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WILLIAM Mi^ THAYER, ♦

AUTHOR OF " THE PIONEER BOV, AND HOW HE BECAME PRESIDENT."

SIXTH EDITION,
COMPLETING TWENTIETH THOUSAND.

HODDER AND STOUGHTON,

27, PATERNOSTER ROW.
MDCCCLXXXI.

Butler & Tanner,

The Selwood Printing Works,

Frome, and London

PREFACE.

Sixteen years ago the author prepared a book for boys
upon the early life of Abraham Lincoln, entitled, The
Pioneer Boy, and How He Became President.
The favourable reception of that volume carried it
through thirty-six editions. Six months ago the
American publisher of this volume suggested that a
similar work for boys of the present time, upon tho
early life of General Garfield, would furnish one of
the noblest examples of success for them to imitate.

On gathering materials from the most authentic
sources, we were forcibly impressed by the resem-
blance of General Garfield's early obscurity and strug-
gles, as well as the triumphs of his manhood, to those
of Mr. Lincoln ; and this fact completely reconciled u?
to a previous engagement to prepare the work.

Both of these statesmen were born in log -cabins,
built by their fathers, in the wilderness, for family
homes. Both were poor as mortals can well be. Both
were born with talents of the highest order ; but neither

iv F RE FACE.

enjoyed early advantages of schools and teachers. At
eight years of age Liiicoln lost his mother ; and when
Garfield was eighteen months old he lost his father.
Both worked on a farm, chopped wood, and did what-
ever else was needful for a livelihood, when eight years
of age. Both improved every leisure moment in study
and reading. Both read all the books that could be
Dorrowed for miles around ; and each was known, in his
own township and time, as a boy of remarkable mental
ability and promise. Both of them early displayed
great tact and energy, turning a hand to any kind of
labour, farming, chopping, teaming, carpentering. In
his youth, Lincoln run a flat-boat down the Ohio and
Mississippi rivers to New Orleans, eighteen hundred
miles, on a trading expedition ; Garfield, at about the
same age, served on a boat of the Ohio and Penn-
sylvania Canal, driving mules and acting as steersman.
Both were well known for their industry, tact, perse-
verance, integrity, courage, economy, thoroughness,
punctuality, decision, and benevolence. Both taught
school in the backwoods as soon as they knew enough
to teach. Each of them studied law when pursuing
another avocation for a livelihood, — Lincoln a surveyor,
and Garfield a teacher. Each became a member of the
legislature in his native State before thirty years of age.
Both served the country in war, when about the same
age, — Lincoln in the '* Blackhawk War," and Garfield
in the *' War of the Rebellion." Each was the youngest
member of the legislature, and the youngest officer in
the army, when he served. The talents and eloquence

PREFACE. V

of both made them members of Congress, — Lincohi at
thirty-seven years of age, and Garfield at thirty-three ;
each one of them being the youngest member of the
House of Representatives at the time. Both of them
took high rank at once as debaters and eloquent
speakers, as well as stalwart opposers of slavery. Both,
also, won a reputation for wit, and humour, and
geniality, making them popular with both sides of
the House. Neither of them were candidates in the
National Conventions that nominated them for the
Presidency, — both were compromise candidates when it
became apparent that union could be secured upon
no others. Their names were introduced amid the
wildest enthusiasm ; thousands cheering, hats swinging,
handkerchiefs waving, and the bands playing national
airs. The nomination of each was hailed with demon-
strations of joy throughout the country.

The language which General Garfield applied to Mr.
Lincoln, on the floor of the national House of Repre-
sentatives, one year after his assassination, we may
apply, with equal appropriateness, to Garfield himself:

** His character is aptly described in the words of
England's great laureate, in which he traces the upward
steps of some

" ' Divinely gifted man,
Whose life in low estate began,
And on a simple village green.

" * Who breaks his birth's invidious bar,

And grasps the skirts of happy chance,
And breasts the blow of circumstance,
And grapples with his evil star.

PREFACE,

'• * Who makes by force his merit known,
And lives to clutch the golden keys,—
To mould a mighty State's decrees,
And shape the whisper of the throne.

And mo zing up from high to higher,
Becomes, on Fortune's crowning slope,
The pillar of a people's hope,

The centre of a world's desire' '*

U (

W. M. T

CONTENTS

I.

FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL.

PAGB

School opens — James must go— The Elder Brother — What
James knew — Light of Home — How to get James to
School — Who was Mehetabel ? — Carrying James to School
on her Back — How this Family came in the Woods of Ohio
— Ancestors of James — Thomas and Abram Garfield —
Widow Ballou — Abram and Eliza — Moving West — The
Journey described — Abram going West — Meeting Eliza —
Married — Bride taken to Log-Cabin — Description of
Cabin — Buys Tract in Orange— Removes there in 1830 —
Description of the New Cabin — Abram Garfield described
— "Fire in the Forest" — Sickness and Death in the Cabin
— Funeral — Grave in the Wheat-field — Pleasing Incident
— Winter of Desolation — Loneliness and Want . • 1

II.

BEFORE SCHOOL-DAYS.'

Advice of a Neighbour'— What can be done— Advice from
Above— Decided to remain — Thomas to run the Farm
— Progress of Farming — Wolf of Hunger at the Door —
Two Meals a Day— One Meal a Day — The first Harvest
—Mrs. Garfield's History — Many Ministers and Talented
Men in the Family — James' First Pair of Shoes — Shoe-
makers of that day Itinerant— A Christian Couple— Creed
of the Disciples — A Christian Home 14

viii CONTENTS,

III.
GETTING ON.

PACK

The Spinning-wheel — Coming Home from School — Comments
on the School — Ohio Schools described — What Books in
the Family — The Locality of the School- house described
— Chagrin Falls — James inquisitive — Questioning the
Scholars on the Bible — His remarkable Memory — Sharp
Observation — Great Imitator— The Winter School —
James did not go— Long Evenings in the Cabin — James*
Mother teaching him — The child's Volume— The New
Idea of Rain — Great reader — The English Reader —
Revels in Books 24

IV.

TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS.

A New School-house — The Plan accompHshed — Teacher from
New Hampshire— His Appearance — "Boarding round"
— Making a General of James — What is a General? —
The Revolution— His Great-grandfather in War— A Won-
derful Revelation to him — Relations between Teacher and
James — The Strict Rule — Trying to Sit Still— A Failure
— Mother's Disappointment — The Teacher's New Idea —
The New Trial and Results — Interview with Mrs. Gar-
field— James Nervous and Restive — Kicking off the
Clothes in Peace — Kicking off the Clothes in War— Best
Scholar— Won the Testament— Result of being Himself —
The Spelling-club and SpeUing-matches . , . .33

V.

BOY FARMER.

James at Farming — More Money needed — Plans suggested —
Teaching in View — The " I Cans"— Swallowing the Egg
— His Self-reliance — William Carey, the Missionary — Not
Egotism or Pride — " Where there's a Will there's a Way"
— " God helps those who help themselves " — " Self-made,
or never made " — What a Statesman said — What James
said Forty Years After — Playing in School, and sent
Home— The Humorous side — Enlarging the Log-Cabin . 46

CONTENTS. ix

'VI.
SUNDAY IN THE WOODS.

?AGH

Need of Sabbath in Woods — A Revelation to James— Meet-
ing-houses and Sabbath Bells — Pioneer Meetings — How
Families went to Meeting — Itinerant Preachers described
— Sunday in the Garfield Cabin - The Bible its Preacher
— James wants to know where it came from — Joseph's
Coat of many Colours a Puzzle — His singular Inquisi-
tiveness — Influence of the Bible on him — The Temper-
ance Reform — James' first Lessons in Temperance —
Taught Loyalty to Country — Bravery in doing Right —
The Den of Lions— The Garfield Coat- of-arms— Moral
Heroism of his Home — Religious Controversies — Baptism
— Effect on James — A Whig, not Baptized . . .56

VII.

HIGHER UP.

Change for Thomas — James' Interest— Twenty-one— Emigra-
tion to Michigan — James must run Farm in place of
Thomas — A Lonely Cabin— The Scenery about James'
Home — Speculation and Thomas in Michigan — James
runs the Farm— Poverty and Happiness— Hardships —
Ignorance is Bliss— Work is not Hardship for James —
Exchanging Work — Pioneers need Wisdom— Change of
fourteen Years — Efficiency of James on the Farm — The
Farm his Teacher— George Stephenson- Manhood De-
veloping— Thoughts of an Education — Man Devising,
God Directing his Steps ,,..,.» 69

VI I L

BOY CARPENTER.

Tom coming Home— Big and Little Brother — Mother and Son
— Handful of Gold — James Wonders— His Mother Over-
come— The Frame-house — What James can do — Morti^r
ingand Planing — Frame-houses Small and Cheap — Sharp

CONTENIS,

PAGB

Observation — Elbow Grease— The Will and Way — Rais-
ing the House— Driving Nails — A Failure and its Lessons
— Orator Mum — Pluck and Luck— Secret Purpose carried
out— Trying — A Job at Carpenter's Work— One Hundred
Boards Planed— First Money earned — An Hour of
Triumph— All for his Mother 80

IX.

BARN-BUILDING.

The Carpenter^s Call--- Learning to Frame a Barn— The Price
— Doing Things Well — Knowing certainly — Seeing with
the Brains — Plan of the Barn — Use of Plan or System
— The Lord's System — System Indispensable — The Barn
Completed — Fifty Cents a Day — How improved Even-
ings— In Advance of his Teacher — An Incident in School
— Reading Robinson Crusoe — Its Impression — Reading
Josephus— Refusal to Break the Sabbath — His Bravery
to resist Wrong— Kindness to Animals and his Friend
David — Defending the Little Boy— Another Earn built
— Same Pay — At School^Another Book, "Alonzo and
Mehssa" — Growing Aspirations — Love of Sports — A Stal-
wart Boy— Trip to Cleveland — The Bully Beaten . . 97

A BLACK-SALTER.

Colloquy — Weeding Peppermint—" Leading the Gang " — Ex-
planation— The Shed built — The Black-salter's Proposal
Going Home — Colloquy with his Mother — Becomes a
Black-salter — What his Work was — His Fidelity— Dis-
covering the Cheat — Rough Men — The Profane Man
rebuked— Bad Books in the House — "Pirate's Own Book,"
" Marryat's Novels," etc. — Worse than Damon's — Bad
Effects of the Books — Seeds of Evil sown — Wants to be
a Sailor — Barton's Confidence — ^James Uneasy — What
came of a Beau — "Hired Servant"— How it Aroused
James— Leaves the Saltery . , . . . .117

CONIENTS, xi

XI.
A WOOD-CHOPPER.

TAGK

Home for Good — Talk with his Mother— Wish to be Some-
body— Tells Mother of the Sea — Getting a Job — Bargains
to chop a Hundred Cords of Wood — Boards with his
Sister — Fair View of Lake Erie — The German chopping
— Lesson of Application and Perseverance — Talk with
Sister about going to Sea — Two Cords cut every Day —
Books at Home — Reads Evenings — Completes Job, and
goes Home— Works Four Months for a Farmer — Haying
and Harvesting — Discussion on Baptism — Talk with Far-
mer about going to Sea — Forty-eight Dollars Pay . .132

XIL

A CANAL BOY.

Dissatisfied at Home — Longing for the Sea— A Compromise
— Bound for Lake Erie — Application to Captain of a
Schooner — Horrible Scene — The Repulse — Musing — Call
of Captain Letcher — James' Surprise and Bargain— The
Canal Outfit — Boatmen Rough and Ignorant — His first
Day as Driver— James and Mules Tumble into Canal—
An Exciting Scene — The Comical View of it — " Eleven
Miles Lock" — James Reheved— Catechised by the Cap-
tain—Captain opposes his going to Sea— Advises him to
Teach School— Sets James to Thinking .... 142

XIII.

TRIUMPHS ON THE TOW-PATH.

Locks of Akron— Prospect of a Fight— Captain Letcher's Call
— Interference of James — His Decision for Right triumphs
—Scene at Breakfast— Scene at Beaver— Accident to
Murphy — Attacks James— Another Triumph for James —
Harry Brown and Whisky— James' Hostility to Rum and
. ToLacco— Argument with Murphy — Brown's Estimate of

CONTENTS.

PACK

James — The Steersman's Opinion of James — James pro-
moted to be Bowman— A Peacemaker — The Captain's
Opinion of James — No Books — Observation — Fell Four-
teen Times into the Water — Last Fall into the Water
Perilous— Miraculous Deliverance— Good Impressions of
it — Attacked with Ague — Goes Home Sick — Meeting his
Mother 155

XIV.

THE TURNING-POINT.

Narrating Experience before retiring — A Pious Mother — Her
sleepless, joyful Night — Better next Day— Worse Again—
The Doctor called — Tossing with Fever— Letting out his
Heart- A Teacher or Preacher— Talk on Religion — Win-
ter School — Bates the Teacher — Mrs. Garfield's wise
Course — Mr. Bates' Call — Desire to go to Sea again —
A Mother's Tactics — No Mystery in Desire for Seafaring
Life — Two Incidents— Growing Morally — Final Decision
to get an Education — Turning-point — Great Question
Settled— Pleasing Interview with Dr. Robinson— One poor
Suit of Clothes— Eleven Dollars all 168

XV.

GEAUGA SEMINARY.

On the Way to School — Outfit — Application to the Principal
— Hiring a Room — Boarding themselves — A Free-will
Baptist Institution — A New Scene for James— Grammar
Class — But and rt?/(3?— Contest with the Teacher — A Queer
System of Grammar — Fun for the Boys — Success of James
at Housekeeping — Looking for Work — Bargain with a
Carpenter — Works before and after School, and on Satur-
days— The School Library attractive to James — Writing
Composition — First Appearance on the Stage— Reading
the Life of Henry C. Weight- A Milk Diet— Paying
all his Bills — The Debating Society — Foundation of his
Greatness— Henry Wilson— Buxton- Canning. . . 182

CONTENTS.

XVI.
AFTER VACATION.

fAGB

I

Vacation — Building a Barn for his Mother — A Job with a
Farmer — Behind Time — Evening Studies— The Lonely
Ninepence — Horace Mann —Return to the Seminary —
Giving away the Ninepence —The Milk Diet— The Result
— A better Diet sought —Fifty Cents a Week the Maximum
— Talk with Principal about Teaching School— His Quali-
fications for it— A Scrape among the Boys — James stands
up for the Right —A Profitable Term . . . .194

XVII.

KEEPING SCHOOL.

Looking up a School — Too Young to Teach —The Norton Dis-
trict—Stopping over-night with the Family— Next Day's
Experience — Home again, Discouraged— His Mother's
View of it— Unexpected Call for a Teacher — A Providen-
tial Offer — Consults Uncle Amos — The wise Decision —
Excitement in the District — First Day of School — How
won his Pupils — Summing up of the Winter's Labour —
Boarding round — At Home on Sundays — Becomes a
Christian — Returns to the Seminary — Boards with the
Carpenter — School-keeping the next Winter — Teaching
Geometry — How his Trousers were torn and mended —
Close of School • . , . 205

XVIIL

THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL.

The New England Graduate — A College Education in View —
How a Student Works his way in College — His Decision
— Latin and Greek — Joining the Disciples' Church— His
Eloquence— A Born Preacher — View of Teachers and
Scholars — Seeking Work— Amusing Incident with a
Farmer— Work and Pay — A Query answered — The Anti-
slavery Conflict— His Hatred of Slavery — Discussion
against Slavery in the School Lyceum — His Companions
Jubilant over his Success— The Charming Young Lady and

xiv CONTENTS.

PAGH

James— The Student of Eclectic Institute — James turned
to it — Closing Connection with Geauga Seminary — His
First Oration — Journey with his Mother to Muskingum
County — First Railroad seen — State Capitol — James
Teaches School at Harrison — Return Home • , .217

XIX.

THE ECLECTIC INSTITUTE.

Application to Trustees — Colloquy— Engages to Ring the Bell
and Sweep Floors — Hiram Described — Hinsdale's View
of the School — Interview with the Principal — Roomed
with four others— Promptness— Doing Things Well —
Talk with his Room-mate — Testimony of another Bell-
ringer— A Woman's Description of him — Most "Popular"
Student — Why — The Library and Reading — His Plan Ex-
plained— Importance of Reading Systematically — Letter
of James Six or Eight Years after — The Spirit Stirring
within him — Planting Trees on the Campus, and their
Names — A Female Student Rebuked — The Joke of it —
His keen Sense of Justice — A Case 235

XX.

STUDENT AND TEACHER.

Promoted to Teacher — Words of President Hinsdale —
Shinghng a House — James as a Worker— Extent of his
Carpenter Work — Class of Three in Geometry — Miss
Booth — In Class with Miss Booth — Their Studies— What
they Accomplished — A Tribute to. her— Discussing his
Thesis all Night— The Vacation Literary Society — Rehg-
ious Life — Father Bentley — James Preaching — Amusing
Anecdote — As Public Speaker — In the Lyceum — Fugi-
tive-slave Bill — Miss Rudolph again — An Important
Step — In Social Life Valued— Proficient in Mezzotint
Drawing — VersatiHty — Popularity as a Teacher— Hins-
dale's Testimony — Other Witnesses — Bethany or Wil-
liams College— His Decisionj and Why — How the Money
came — Summary of his Work at Hiram . . . . 249

CONTENTS. XV

XXI.
IN COLLEGE.

FAGS

Appearance before Dr. Hopkins --The Hand-shake —Impres-
sions of Dr. H. — Enters Junior Class— Spent Vacation in
Library— Grand Scenery — Explorations — Impression he
first Made on the Students — An Accurate Scholar — Stick-
ing to Things — In role of Debater — Testimony of a
Classmate as to Standing — German— College Games —
Williajns Quarterly — His Poem — Teaching Penmanship
in Vacation —Next Vacation in New York — Teacher and
Preacher— Offered Post in Troy High School — Arguments
For and Against — The Suit of Clothes — Trouble about
Money — Help Found — Visit to his Mother— Anti-slavery
Excitement — Charles Sumner— Goodrich's Speech— Gar-
field's Speech on Fremont— A greater one on Assault
upon Sumner — Reading— Graduates with Highest Honour
— Testimony of Dr. Hopkins and President Chadbourne . 267

XXIL

RETURN TO HIRAM.

Teacher of Ancient Languages and Literature— Only Eight
Years from Tow-path — His Ambition — Heart at Hiram —
At Head of Institution — Principal — "Capturing Boys"—
Garfield's Account of two — What President Hinsdale
says— The Soiled Place on the Wall— The Task and Les-
son from it— Studying under Compulsion — Punctuality
and Promptness— Preaching and Practice— Amusing
Scene— The Turning-point of Life— His Numerous Lec-
tures— Debate with Denton— Testimony of Rev. J. L.
Darsie — Lectures on Teaching —The Drama — An Imper-
sonator—Speeches— Studied Law— A Preacher — Married
Nov. II, 1858— The Books he valued —Commencement
and Roughs — More from Mr. Darsie ..... 284

XXIIL

TOP OF THE LADDER.

Impressed into Public Life — Speeches for Fremont — Student
for Companion— Reply to Democratic Orator— Discussion

CONTENTS.

PAGE

with Hart— Offer to send him to the Legislature— Delivers
Oration at Williams College— His Trip — Offer of the
State Senatorship — Conference with Faculty and Trustees
--Nomination, Speech, and Election —Taking his Seat —
Cox and Monroe — Ranked High at once —Hinsdale's
Estimate -Rise of Ten Years -Incipient RebelHon in '6i
— His Courage, Ability, and Eloquence — Abjured " Peace
Measures" — Advocated Fighting -War Inevitable —His
Trumpet-call -Mission to Missouri —Organizing Regi-
ments— Accepts Colonelcy —Made Brigadier-General —
Made Major-General —Elected Representative to Congress
— Elected United States Senator — His Speech— Hins-
dale's Remarks on —Highest Round of Ladder but One
— Steps to the Top— Enthusiasm over his Nomination for
President —His Election from Log-Cabin to White House 299

XXIV.

INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD.

Boyhood in Manhood — The Bible and the War — Letter to a
Friend— Tact and Thoroughness in Drilling Men — Char-
tering the Engine — His First Scout — An old Canal-boat
Companion turns up — Second Scout — The Hundred
Hiram Students — Incidents of their Daring — The Turn of
Battle — President Lincoln's Verdict — Famous Sail up the
Big Sandy— Overcomes the Rebel Captain and the Tor-
rent— What Became of Brown — His Famous Ride through
a Shower of Bullets — The Fugitive-slave Safe with him —
His Battle in Congress for a Draft — His Reply to the
Traitor, Alexander Long— His Fearless Self-defence in a
Convention— Another Example of his Courage — How met
Rotten Eggs— Controlling the 50,000 Men after Death of
Lincoln— Scholar and Orator — His Original Maxims and
Striking Sentiments 31^

FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL.

A RUMOUR came to the log-cabin that a school would
open soon at the village, one-and-a-half miles distant.
It was only a rumour at first, but the rumour grew into
fact in the course of a week.

"Jimmy must go, mother," said Thomas> who was
nearly thirteen years old, a boy of heroic spirit and
true filial and fraternal devotion.

" Yes, Jimmy must go," responded his mother, with
such a smile as lights up the face of those mothers
only who think what a treasure and joy there is in the
little three- year-old ; for Jimmy had not yet reached
his fourth birthday. " I wish you could go, Tom, also,"
she added.

" I wish I could, too," the thoughtful lad replied ;
"but the potatoes would hardly be dug, and the corn
would hardly be harvested, nor the winter rye be put
in, if I should go. The girls and Jimmy can go, and
my work will get us food and clothes." The last
sentence was spoken with so much interest, as if the
son and brother found his highest pleasure in being
able to run the little farm alone, while his sisters and
precious little brother could attend school together,
that his good mother could scarcely suppress her honest
pride over the unselfish and noble boy. Her maternal
pride came very near making a demonstration and

2 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

applying some pet names to Thomas, but her excellent
judgment, which usually ruled, guided her into a wiser
course, and she let the occasion pass with only a few
well-chosen words of approval.

" It is a good chance for Jimmy," added Thomas,
after a moment had passed., in which remark his
mother saw the "heap" of love he had for his little
brother ; and every one else would see it now, too,
could they understand the circumstances. More than
one person had remarked that Thomas thought a
" heap " of James.

It was a busy time in the cabin, preparing the
children for school. The girls and Thomas went to
school before the family removed to Orange, so that
it was not a new thing to them. Besides, their mother
had taught them much. She had made no special
effort to teach James, except to tell him Bible stories,
and answer his multitudinous questions in her instructive
way. Still James knew nearly all his letters, and was
better versed in Bible history than most children of his
age at the present day. The stories of the Ark, Cain
and Abel, Joseph, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Absalom,
Daniel, the Bethlehem Babe, and many others, were
familiar to him at that time. The little fellow possessed
a remarkable memory, and he was bright and sunny,
the light and joy of the log-cabin. It would not suffice
to say that his mother thought that he was particularly
a bright and talented boy ; for mothers are quite apt
to think very well of their offspring. But when we add
that Thomas and his sisters, and the neighbours also,
regarded James as a very precocious and promising
lad, the reader may safely conclude that the hero of
this volume was none of your simple-minded "children
of the woods" — neithes a juvenile drone nor ignoramus,

FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL. 3

He was Just the little fellow to make music at home or
in the school-house.

"Jimmy can't walk half the way," said Thomas ; "he
will be tired to death before he hardly gets out of sight
of home."

" I'll see to that," replied his sister, with an air of
assurance that indicated her plans were all laid.
" Jimmy won't be tired."

" What is going to prevent it } " inquired Thomas.

" You'll see," answered his sister, somewhat evasively,
though Thomas knew by her appearance that there was
real significance in what she said.

"Well, what's up now," added Thomas, sure that
some project was in her head.

"Nothing is up, except Jimmy; he will be 2ip — on
my back," answered the brave girl, who had resolved
to spare her lively -little brother's legs by carrying him
to school.

"Carry Jimmy to school 1 " exclaimed Thomas;
"you will be more tired than he will be to walk. It
is a bigger load than our great-grandfather carried in
the Revolutionary war. You'll get sick of that."

" It won't be the first thing I am sick of that I have
done," was all the girl's reply.

We did not mean to tell this resolute maid's unpoet-
ical name ; but we desire to say something about her,
and so we must tell her name. It was Mehetabel.
The name was load enough to carry to school without
adding the burden of Jimmy. Mehetabel was fifteen
years old, just such a strapping girl as would grow up
in the woods, among tall trees ; but she did not merit
such a name as that. It set upon her better at fifteen
than it could have done in babyhood, undoubtedly.
Just think of a baby bearing the name of MEHETABEL !

4 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

We have looked for its origin, and find that it belongs
to the old Jewish dispensation, and ought to have been
cast into oblivion with its lumbering ceremonials. But,
somehow, it slid over into the new dispensation, and
after the lapse of eighteen hundred years and more it
now confronts us in Ohio \

Well, the first day ot school arrived, and Mehetabel
took her two burdens — her name and brother — and
trudged off to school. Jimmy was mightily pleased
with his new mode of conveyance, and so were the
whole family ; and they made a jolly morning of it in
starting off the pioneer troupe, who were only forty-six
years distant from the White House. The log-cabin
smiled as it had not smiled since that terrible day of
sorrow, of which we shall soon speak. Thomas was the
happiest boy in Ohio on that blessed morning, although
he did not know it ; and he went to work with fresh
vigour and determination, splendid fellow that he was.
While the children are in school, and Thomas is driving
work on the farm, and the good mother is having a
lonely day in the cabin, with her spinning-wheel, we
will stop to tell how this family came to be in the woods
of Ohio, and add some definite information about the
father.

In the year 1799 Thomas Garfield was a farmer in
Worcester, Otsego County, N.Y. That year a son was
born to him, to whom he gave the name of Abram.
Thirty-two years afterwards, this son Abram became
the father of James A. Garfield.*

Before Abram was two years old, his father suddenly
sickened and died, leaving his wife and several children
penniless, — a sorrow that was singularly repeated in the

* Just elected President of the United States.

FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL. 5

life of Abram, who died, as we shall see, when James
was less than two years of age, leaving his wife and
four children to battle with the hardships of life. It
was not possible for Abram's mother to keep the family-
together and provide for so many mouths ; so a neigh-
bour, James Stone, took Abram into his family, and
reared him as one of his own children.

When the lad was ten years old, widow Ballou re-
moved into the neighbourhood, from New Hampshire
Mrs. Ballou had a daughter, Eliza, about a year younger
than Abram, a very bright, promising girl. Abram and
Eliza became playmates, and thought very much of
each other.

Eliza was fourteen years old when her mother con-
ceived the idea of emigrating to Ohio, which was then
the *' Far West," and great stories were told about its
prolific soil and future wealth. Emigrants from New
York, and also from the New England States, were
removing thither in considerable numbers. James
Ballou, her son, now a young man, saw emigrant
wagons passing through New York, or starting from
it, their destination being Ohio, and became more
enthusiastic than his mother to go. At last she
decided to remove thither, sold her little farm, packed
her household goods into an emigrant wagon, and with
her children started for the West. Abram was a lonely
boy when Eliza left, and the two separated regretfully.

It was a long and tiresome journey of six weeks, —
a trip that could be accomplished now in twelve hours.
The family were in the wagon, except when the wagon
was stuck in the mud, and they were compelled to un-
load, and with levers lift it out. The roads were fear-
fully bad, without a bridge over a single river ; so they
had streams to ford, swamps to wade, and quagmires to

& FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

avoid, enough to test the courage and patience of the
most experienced woman and the bravest girl. On the
way James shot game, so that there was no lack of food.
At length they reached Zanesville, Muskingum County,
one of the oldest settlements in Ohio at that time ; and
there they settled.

About five years later Abram Garfield took the
" Ohio fever," as it was called, or else the memory of
the fair-haired maiden inspired him to nobler deeds,
and he, too, started for the West — a young man of
twenty years, hopeful, fearless, ambitious, and smart.
He found work in Newburg, near Cleveland. Cleve-
land was then only a small collection of log-cabins,
containing about one hundred people. Newburg was
newer and more isolated. But, for some reason, the
young adventurer selected the latter place for his home.

It is quite evident that he not only worked, but cast
about to learn something of the maiden he could not
forget. For he learned, after a time, that the Ballou
family were at Zanesville, whither he wended his way
on a visit, as soon as possible. The family gave him a
hearty greeting, especially Eliza, who had grown into a
winsome damsel of almost nineteen. That Abram was
glad to see her would be a tame way of stating the fact.
If Eliza had constituted all the " Far West " there was
at that time, Abram would have been fascinated by the
country, making no account at all of New York in the
comparison. Without stretching out the tale into a " long
yarn," it will suffice to say, that Eliza just filled
Abram's eye, and in less than two years from that time
became his wife. They were married February 3, 1821,
and repaired at once to his chosen home, Newburg,
where a log-cabin, eighteen by twenty feet, containing
but one room, awaited them. It was a very humble

t>IRST DAY AT SCHOOL. ^

abode, but true love put as much happiness into it as
could have been there if it had been a palace. The
cabin was destitute of sash or glass, though places for
three windows, covered with greased paper, admitted
light. Greased paper was-a cotnmon substitute for
glass, and was the " stained-glass -' of that day. The
furniture was manufactured by her noble husband, of
whom she was as proud as he was of her ; and it was
the latest style of that region, therefore fashionable.
It consisted of several three-legged stools, a puncheon
table, a bed in one corner, constructed of poles and slabs,
a frying-pan, one iron pot, two wooden plates, with
knives and forks to match, and a " Dutch oven," which
was simply a kettle with a rimmed cover, on which live
coals were laid. Here James A. Garfield's father began
life in earnest, and here he lived nine years, during which
time three of his children were born. He tilled the soil,
and also at two different times took contracts on the
Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal, which was in process of
construction.

The young adventurer was not satisfied, however.
His growing family demanded larger provision for the
future, so he purchased fifty acres of land, at two dollars
an acre, in Orange, Cuyahoga County, seventeen miles
from the first home of his wedded life. He selected this
locality because Amos Boynton, whose wife was sister
to Mrs. Garfield, had purchased a tract there ; and the
families could remove thither together. One log-cabin
was erected first, in which both families lived, thick as
"three in a bed," until another cabin could be built.
When these cabins were built the nearest neighbour was
seven miles away. It was January, 1830, when Abram
Garfield removed to this new home in the wilderness.
His cabin was larger and more substantial than the one

8 FROM LCG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

he left. It was twenty by thirty feet, made of unhewn
logs, notched and laid one upon another, in what boys
call the *' cob-house " style, to the height of twelve feet
or more in front, and eight feet or more on the back
side. The spaces between the logs were filled with clay
or mud, making a warm abode for winter, and a cool one
for summer.

The chimney was constructed of wood and mud, rising
from the roof like a pyramid, smallest at the top. The
roof was covered with slabs, held in place by long
weight-poles. The floor was made of logs, each split
into two parts and laid the flat side up, hewn smooth
with an axe. There was a loft above, to which the
family ascended by a sort of permanent ladder in one
corner of the cabin. The children slept upon the floor
of the loft, on straw beds. The only door of the dwell-
ing was made of plank ; and three small windows fur-
nished all the light possible, though not so much as was
needed. This briefly, was the pioneer home in which
James A. Garfield was born, on the 19th day of Novem-
ber, 1 83 1, and from which he went forth to his first day
at school, as already described,

Abram Garfield was a tali, heavy, handsome man,
capable of great endurance; just the man to plunge
into a wilderness to make a home and clear land for
a farm. He possessed the strength, will, and wisdom
for such an enterprise. His brain was in fair proportion
to his body, large and active, making him a strong-
minded man ; and, under other and more favourable
circumstances, he might have made a broad and deep
mark on his day and generation. But he thought of
little except his family in that day of hardship and want,
and so he chose a home and occupation where honour
and fame were out of the question. But, with all his

FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL. 9

physical strength, the loving husband and father was not
exempt from the attacks of disease. One day, in the
midst of his hard toil, he heard the alarm of " Fire in
the forest." Forest fires were common in summer time,
and often large tracts of woods were burned over ; and
sometimes pioneer cabins were destroyed, and the crops
on little farms in the wilderness were injured.

** It is coming this way certainly," said Mr. Garfield
with some anxiety, after satisfying himself as to the
danger. " I'm afraid it will make trouble for us. Mehe-
tabel, run to the house with my axe, and bring me the
shovel"

The girl was assisting her father. Within five minutes
Mr. Garfield had the shovel, and Mrs. Garfield, and
all the children except the baby, were out to watch the
fire.

" We must fight it," said Mr. Garfield, " or only ashes
will be left of our home at sundown."

' " I fear as much," replied Mrs. Garfield. ** These
forest fires are terrible."

" Mehetabel, you and Thomas follow me ; " and he
ran across the house-lot to the edge of the woods, to
prevent the fiery demon from attacking his habitation.

Thomas and his sister followed. The fire reached the
spot almost as soon as they did, and the battle with
it began. It was a long and hard fight. Mr. Garfield
met the enemy with all the vigour of a father contending
for his children. He fully realized what their situation
would be if the sun should go down upon the ruins of
their home, and the thought impelled him to super-
human efforts. For nearly two hours, in the burning
sun of a hot July day, he fought the fire with his strong
arm. Sometimes the battle seemed to turn in favour
of the fiery element, and again the resolute pioneer ap-

ro FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

peared to have the advantage over it. At last, however,
the fire was conquered, or rather, was prevented from
devouring the little cabin and desolating the crops,
though it swept on beyond the farm, whither the wind
drove it.

Thoroughly heated and exhausted, Mr. Garfield sat
down upon a stump to rest, and enjoy the cool, refresh-
ing breeze that sprang up from the West. He did not
dream that he was exposing his health by sitting,
covered with perspiration, in that cool wind. But that
night he was seized violently by congestion of the
throat, and his stout frame writhed in pain, threatening
speedy dissolution. As early in the morning as pos-
sible, Mehetabel was posted away to Mr. Boynton's,
and Thomas to a neighbour in another direction, for
their assistance. There was no physician within many
miles ; but one of the neighbours summoned claimed to
possess some medical knowledge, and the patient was
passed over into his hands, substantially, after he ar-
rived. He applied a blister, thereby aggravating the
disease, and hurrying the sick man to his grave. Mrs.
Garfield did all that true love and remarkable efficiency
could do to save her husband, but her tender and faith-
ful ministrations were fruitless ; he sank rapidly, and at
last died without a struggle. His last words were, look-
ing upon his children, and then addressing his wife :

" I have planted four saplings in these woods ; I must
now leave them to your care."

Oh, what a dark pall settled upon that abode ! A
happier family never dwelt in a palace than was found
in that cabin. And now the burden of sorrow that
rested upon the widowed wife and fatherless children
was gauged by the greatness of bereaved affection.
Little James was but eighteen months old when his

FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL. H

father died — too young to understand the irreparable
loss, or to feel the pangs of grief that well-nigh crushed
other hearts. It was well that his baby-spirit could not
take in the sorrow of that hour; there was anguish
enough in that stricken home without adding his touch-
ing wail thereto.

The neighbours came, what few there were (only four
or five families within a radius of ten miles), and sympa-
thized and wept with the widow and fatherless ones.
With their assistance the lifeless remains were enclosed
in a rough box, and borne out through the low doorway,
and buried in a corner of the wheat-field, near by. No
sermon, no remarks, no prayers, except the silent prayers
that went up for grace from aching hearts ! Reader,
you will never know, you never can know, nobody can
ever know, except by the dreadful experience, what the
death and burial of a loved one is in the wilderness,
amid the gloom and silence of primeval forests. That
bereaved widow still lives, and after the lapse of nearly
fifty years she bears the marks of that great sorrow. A
kind Providence that "tempers the wind to the shorn
lamb " has wonderfully sustained her, and she has found
her Saviour to be as " the shadow of a great rock in
a weary land." Still the brow of almost eighty years
is furrowed by the severity of that affliction.

An incident should be recorded here. It occurred a
short time before Mr. Garfield's death : and he was
reading a volume of Plutarch's "Lives," with James
in his lap. The latter could speak the words, *'papa,'*
" mamma," and others. " Say Plutarch," said his father.
James repeated it very distinctly. " Say it again,"
continued Mr. Garfield. James repeated it plainly, as
before, and continued to repeat it. Lookiiig up to his
wife, Mr. Garfield remarked, with a true father'ij love

12 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

and pride, '" Eliza, this boy will be a scholar some
day!"

Winter was approaching ; and winter in the wilder-
ness, especially when the stalwart arm upon which loved
ones depend for support and defence is palsied in death,
is not calculated to dispel gloom from a dwelling.
Could human experience be more dreary than when a
woman is left a widow, alone with her children, in a
wilderness swept by wintry storms ; and that affliction
intensified by extreme poverty, so that economy and
careful planning are needful to keep the wolf of hunger
from the door ? What a winter it was ! The snow lay
deep and heavy upon the earth, burying the sacred
mound in the corner of the wheat-field out of sight, and
the high winds moaned through the naked forests as if
wailing for the dead. The howl of wolves and the cry
of panthers never sounded so terrible as they did during
those long, desolate, wintry nights. The children,
realizing the loneliness of their situation, now that their
strong protector was dead, would lie awake at night to
listen tremblingly to the howls and cries of these hungry
animals, at the very door of their cabin. Sometimes it
seemed to them that the panthers knew their courageous
father was lying dead in the wheat-field, and so they
ventured to come to the very door to moan and cry, as
famishing children cry for bread. Baby James, how-
ever, slept on, oblivious alike to the sorrows and perils
of the hour. God was keeping him against the night
of national danger, when he would listen to the yell of
the wolves of plunder at the door of the republic. That
winter, alone in the almost pathless forest, with the
warring elements and beasts of prey uniting to make
desolation more desolate, could not have had more sad
thoughts, bitter tears, hours oi loneliness, and blasted

FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL, 13

hopes, crowded into it than were the natural outcome of
the direful situation.

It seemed to the weary ones that spring would never
return ; but it did, after a long, never-to-be-forgotten
winter. And spring swept the snow and ice, and the
streams ran singing again, and the dead things of the '
field and forest returned to life, save only the dead in
the corner of the wheat-field. There was no resurrection
there ; and so hope was not revived in the cabin, and
a gloomy outlook made even spring-time sad. There
was no money in the house, and there was a debt on
the farm. Food, also, was running low; and the
widowed mother might hear her children cry for bread.
What could she do? Leaving the children still at
school, we will continue the story of her sufferings.

n.

BEFORE SCHOOL-DAYS.

In her strait Widow Garfield sought the ad\ice of
neighbour Boynton, whose real kindness had been a
solace to her heart. He said :

" No woman with four children can carry on a farm
like this alone, and support her family. I see no
possible way out of your trouble except to sell your
place and return to your friends."

" And leave my husband in the wheat-field ? " re-
sponded Mrs. Garfield. " Never j I can't do that."

" But what else can you do ? " continued the neigh-
bour.

Looking at the circumstances on all sides, with her
accustomed good sense and courageous spirit, she
answered :

" When I have sold, paid the debts and the expense
of removal to my friends, I shall have little or nothing
left, and that, too, without a rod of land on which to
raise corn to make a loaf."

" Your friends could help you," suggested the neigh-
bour.

"I can never cast myself upon the charity of friends,"
Mrs. Garfield replied, with an emphasis that showed she
meant what she said. " So long as I have my health I
believe that niy Heavenly Father will bless these two

BEFORE SCHOOL-DAYS, 15

hands so as to support my children. My dear husband
made this home at the sacrifice of his life, and every log
in this cabin is sacred to me now. It seems to me like
a holy trust, that I must preserve as faithfully as I
would guard his grave."

The heroism that came out through these words was
worthy of a Revolutionary matron ; and the woman's
fortitude fairly drew tears from the eyes of the neigh-
bour.

" Then you would not sell your farm any way } "
added the neighbour, inquiringly.

" Not all of it," she replied. " Part of it might go ;
enough to pay the debt."

" I never thought of that," answered the neighbour.
" Perhaps that is the way out of your trouble. Better
think that over, and I will. I'll look about, too, and see
what can be done by way of selling a part of it."

The neighbour left, and Mrs. Garfield went imme-
diately to a greater than he, where she had often been
in her want and woe for counsel. On her knees in one
corner of the cabin she laid her case before God, and
promised to follow His guidance if He would only make
duty plain. God did make it plain as day to her. She
arose from her knees without a doubt in her heart. She
was happier than she had been any time since death
darkened her home. She felt like -singing the twenty-
seventh Psalm : " The Lord is my light and my salva-
tion ; whom shall I fear ? The Lord is the strength of
my life ; of whom shall I be afraid .?"

Calling Thomas, who was not quite eleven years old.
but now the only male dependence on the farm, she
laid the case before him, as if he had been a man of
thirty years, and the resolute and trusty boy replied :

" I can plough and plant, mother. I can sow the

l6 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

wheat, too, and cut the wood, milk the cows, and do
heaps of things for you."

" You are a small boy to do so much," responded his
mother; "but with my help perhaps it can be done.
God has promised to be with the widow and fatherless.
I don't feel that I can move away from this place."

"We needn't," Thomas said, quickly. "I want to
live here, and I will work real hard."

"Not too hard, my son, lest there be two graves
instead of one in the corner of the wheat-field," answered
Mrs. Garfield, with much emotion. " We must finish the
fence around the wheat, and that will be very hard
work ; but I think that I can split the rails, and together
we can set the fence."

" And I can finish the barn, I know," added Thomas.
His father had partially fenced the wheat-field, and
had been putting up a small barn, which was nearly
completed.

And so the whole subject was canvassed, and plans
laid, in the full expectation of remaining on the pioneer
farm. Nor did the widow have to wait long to sell a
portion of her land. Settlers were coming into that
part of Ohio occasionally, and one of them heard,
through the neighbour spoken of, that Mrs. Garfield
would dispose of part of her land. He lost no time in
finding her humble abode, and at once bargained with
her for twenty acres, paying cash for the same. With
this money she paid all the debts, although it took the
last dollar to remove this incumbrance.

Spring was fairly upon them when the sale was
effected, so that she and Thomas proceeded at once to
put the little farm in order. He procured a horse of the
nearest neighbour, who was generous enough to offer
him the use of the animal, and prepared the ground for

BEFORE SCHOOL-DAYS, 17

wheat, corn, and potatoes, and a small garden for
\ egetables. It was truly wonderful to witness the tact
and endurance of this boy-farmer of ten years, toiling
from early morning till night set in, his young heart
bounding with delight over his ability to assist his
widowed mother. Without any assistance, except such
as his mother, and sister of twelve years, rendered, he
did the planting and sowing in a style that assured a
good harvest in the autumn.

At the same time his mother prepared the fence for
the wheat-field. She found trees in the forest already
felled, and she split the rails, every one of them, severe
as the labour was, sometimes almost exhausting her
strength, and always making a large draft upon her
nerves. But the necessity was laid upon her, and she
stopped not to inquire, as she did in the case of Thomas,
whether there might not be another grave in the wheat-
field at no distant period. Before July the house-lot,
which was the small plat of cleared land sowed and
planted, was fenced in, and the little farm was doing
well. There was no school for Thomas and his sisters
to attend, so that he had all the time there was from
morning until night to labour, and wait — wait for the
seed to grow. He did his work, apparently, with as
much ease and efhciency as a young man of twenty
would have done it.

But another trial awaited the afflicted family. Food
was becoming scarce, and no money to purchase more.
An examination satisfied the widow that the corn would
be exhausted long before harvest unless the family were
put upon a daily allowance. So, without speaking to
her children of this new trial, she counted the number
of weeks and days to harvest-time, and estimated the
amount of corn that would be required each day. To

C

i8 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

her surprise and grief, a fair daily allowance would
exhaust the bin of corn before harvest. She took in the
situation at once, and bravely and quickly as a general
on the field of battle, decided she would forego supper
herself that the children might have enough. For a
while the devoted mother lived upon two meals a day
though working harder than she had ever worked any
previous summer ; for she assisted Thomas on the farm
to the extent of her strength, and even beyond her
strength.

A few weeks elapsed, and the doting mother dis-
covered some mistake in her calculations, and she was
startled to find that the present daily allowance of corn
would consume the last ear before the new crop could
be gathered. Without a murmur, and with a martyr
spirit, she resolved to forego dinner ; and from that
time until harvest she indulged in but one meal a day.
All this self-denial was practised in a manner to conceal
it as much as possible from the children. They were
growing and hearty, and Thomas especially needed
substantial food, since he was doing almost a man's
labour. Seldom was a pioneer family found in more
straightened circumstances in mid-summer than was
Widow Garfield's in the year 1834. Had not the spirit
of a Revolutionary matron presided over that cabin, and
the grace of Him who does not suffer a sparrow to fall
without His notice sustained the presiding genius, the
history of that family would have closed that year in the
forests of Ohio.

But the harvest came, and a blessed harvest it was 1
The crops were abundant, and of excellent quality.
Want fled at the sight of the bending sheaves and
golden ears. The dear mother had come off conqueror
in her long contest with the wolf of hunger, and her

BEFORE SCHOOL-DAYS.

«9

heart overflowed with gratitude to the Great Giver.
The twenty-third Psalm had new significance in that
log-cabin, — " The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not
want," etc., — and the grateful mother repeated it over
and over, from day to day, as the real language of her
soul in the hour of deliverance from distressing want.
The first full meal which the abundant harvest brought
was a benison to that household, and never again did
hunger and starvation threaten to destroy them.

We have told the reader somewhat about the father
of this family, and now that so much has been said of
the mother we need to say more. We stop here to
record briefly some facts of her early history.

She was a descendant of Maturin Ballou, a Huguenot
of France, who was driven from that country on the
revocation of the edict of Nantes. He joined the colony
of Roger Williams and eame to America, settling in
Cumberland, R. I. There he built a church, which still
stands, and is carefully preserved as a relic of the past.
It is known as the " Elder Ballou Meeting-house."
When it was built there were no saw-mills in the country
and no nails, and few tools to work with, so that the
old " meeting-bouse " is a great curiosity. Its galleries
and pews are hewn out of solid logs, and put together
with wooden pegs. Even its floor was hewn out ol logs,
and fastened down with wooden pegs. Here Maturin
Ballou preached the gospel while he lived, and was
followed by his son, then his grandson, then his great-
grandson, and so on to the tenth generation. A race
of preachers sprang from this pioneer minister. In
one family of the Ballous the father and four sons were
clergymen ; then followed three grandsons, one great-
grandson, and one great-great-grandson, all from one
branch. There were also many lawyers, doctors, and

20 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

Other public men among the Ballous, eminent for their
talents and remarkable force of character. Some of
them figured in the American Revolution, both as
officers and privates, as heroic and efficient in war as
they were renowned in peace. They were a conscien-
tious people, and one of them, who preached in the old
meeting-house about the year 1775, would not receive
any salary for his services. He protested against being
a *' hireling." And yet he was so poor that one of his
sons was forced to learn to write upon " birch-bark, in
lieu of paper, and use charcoal, instead of pen and ink."
This son was the celebrated Hosea Ballou, founder of
Universalism in the United States. His father broke
away from the Cumberland fold before Hosea was born,
and removed to New Hampshire, where he settled. A
cousin, James Ballou, emigrated thither with him,
married and became the father of Eliza Ballou, who, as
we have seen, is the mother of James A. Garfield.

It is not difficult, therefore, to discover the origin
of Mrs. Garfield's (mother of James) great fortitude, in-
domitable perseverance, tact, talents, and large executive
ability. Were she otherwise, she would not fairly
represent the long line of illustrious ancestors whose
record is found upon two hundred years, and more, of
our nation's history.

In the spring of 1835, a family moved into the vicinity,
which proved of great benefit to the Garfields. They
had sewing to be done, and Mrs. Garfield was glad of
the opportunity to do it. A boy was needed, also, to
plough and chop occasionally, and Thomas found it a
good opportunity to earn a little money for his mother.
It was additional sunshine let into the log-cabin.

It was an era when Thomas brought home the first
money that he earned. A happier boy never crossed a

BEFORE SCHOOL-DAYS. 2x

threshold than he was when he handed the proceeds of
his labour to his mother, saying :

" Now the shoemaker can come and make Jimmy a
pair of shoes."

" Certainly," answered his mother ; " and he will be
indebted to you for the first pair of shoes that he ever
wore. You'll never be sorry."

" I never expect to be sorry," replied Thomas.
"Jimmy ought to have had a pair a long time ago, and
he would have had a pair if there had been any way for
me to earn them."

" Well, you can send word to the shoemaker as soon
as you please," continued his mother ; " the quicker the
better."

James was three and a half years old at that time, and
he had not known the luxury of a pair of shoes, no, not
even in the winter. To come into the possession of the
first pair of shoes in these circumstances, was an event
of great importance. To a child in the woods, it was
like the accession of a fortune to a poor man now. Be
assured, reader, that Jimmy greeted the advent of the
shoemaker with hearty good-will when he came ; and
he came very soon after the shoe question was settled,
for Thomas lost no time in securing his services.

Then, in that part of the country, shoemakers did not
have shops of their own, but they went from cabin to
cabin, boarding with the families while they were mak-
ing shoes for the members. In this case the cobbler
boarded with Mrs. Garfield, and his board paid part of
the cost of the shoes. Shoemakers were not experts in
the business at that time and in that region, so they
required much more time to produce a pair of shoes ;
and when they were completed, no one could say that
their beauty added to their value. They answered

22 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

every purpose, however, in a region where fashion was
at a discount.

The acquisition of that pair of shoes elated the little
possessor more than an election to Congress did less
than thirty years thereafter. He was rich now, and
well equipped for pioneer life. He could defy the snows
of winter as well as the stubbs of summer.

One thing more should be told here. Abram Gar-
ffeld and his noble wife were Christians. Before re-
moving to Orange they united with a comparatively
new sect, called Disciples, though Campbellites was a
name by which they were sometimes known, in honour
of the founder of the sect, Alexander Campbell. Their
creed was very short, plain, and good. It was as
follows :

1. A belief in God the Father.

2. That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God,
the only Saviour.

3. That Christ is a Divine Being.

4. That the Holy Spirit is the Divine agent in the
conversion of sinners, and in guidance and direction

5. That the Old and New Testament Scriptures are
inspired of God.

6. That there is future punishment for the wicked,
and reward for the righteous.

7. That God hears and answers prayer.

8. That the Bible is the only creed.

With such decided opinions, of course their cabin
home was dedicated to God, and the Bible was the
counsellor and guide of their life. The voice of prayer
was heard daily in the rude abode, and the children
were reared under the influence of Christian instruction
and living.

BEFORE SCHOOL-DAYS. - ,23

It has taken us so long to relate the history of this
family previous to Jimmy's first day at school, that we
must now ha.sten to meet the children, on their return,
as told in the next chapter.

HI.

GETTING ON.

Mrs. Garfield was making her spinning-wheel hum
when the children came home. She was obliged to
economize her time in order to clothe her family with
goods of her own manufacture. The spinning-wheel and
loom were just as indispensable to pioneers, at that time,
as a " Dutch oven " was. The age of factories had not
come, certainly not in that part of the country. In New
England, even, factories were in their infancy then, —
small affairs.

" Oh, such a good time as we have had ! " exclaimed
Mehetabel, as she came rushing into the cabin with
James and her sister.

" Twenty-one scholars," added her sister, under con-
siderable excitement. " Mr. Sander's children were
there, and they have twice as far to go as we have.
They have to walk over three miles."

"And how did Jimmy get on at school.?" inquired
their mother, as soon as there was a place for her to put
in a word.

V He liked it," answered Mehetabel ; " he said his
letters; and he asked the master how he knew that
letter was R."

"Just like him," ejaculated Thomas, laughing out-
right. Thomas had just come in, leaving his work when
he saw the children return. "The master will have

GETTING ON. 25

enough to do to answer all his questions. What did the
master tell him ? "

" He told him that he learned it was R at school,
when he was about as old as he was," replied Mehetabel.
And Thomas was giving Jimmy a toss in the air, by
way of sport, while she was relating the facts, and
Jimmy himself was making a most vigorous attempt to
embellish the occurrences of the day from his imperfect
vocabulary.

" How did you like your ride, Jimmy } " inquired
Thomas.

"Me like it," was the child's answer, uttered in a glee-
ful way.

"You liked it better than Hit did, I guess."

" I liked it well enough," responded Mehetabel.

" Wa'nt you awful tired > "

" I wa'nt tired much."

" Did you carry him all the way ? "

" Pretty much. He walked a little of the way home.
He isn't much of a load.'*

" Did he sit still in school >"

" Pretty still. He left his seat once, and went over to
scrape the acquaintance of another boy opposite."

"What did the master say .?"

*• He took him by the hand and led „ him back, look-
ing at us, and smiling ; and he told him that each boy
and girl had his own seat in school, and he must keep
it."

"You are a great one, Jimmy," exclaimed Thomas,
tossing the little midget into the air again. " You will
make music for them in school."

" Well, children, I am glad that you like your school
so well," remarked their mother, who had been listening
to the prattle with maternal interest. " You must make

26 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

the most of it, too, for we can't expect many school ad-
vantages in these woods. Poor opportunities are better
than none."

Ohio schools were of the poorest class then, short and
miserable. The teachers knew but little to begin with,
and children had to travel so far to school that their
attendance was limited to certain parts of the year. In
many schools reading, spelling, and writing were the
only branches taught. Geography and arithmetic were
added to the studies in some schools. All of these
branches were pursued in the schpol which the Garfield
children attended. Teachers in the new settlements,
at that time, were usually males ; it was not supposed
that females could teach school well. That females
make the best teachers, as a class, is a recent discovery.

The books used in the best pioneer schools of Ohio
were Webster's Spelling-book, the English Reader,
Pike's and Adams' Arithmetic, and Morse's (old) Geo-'
graphy. The Garfields possessed all of these. They
had, also, the Farmer's Almanac, and a copy of Davy
Crockett's Almanac, which was found, at one time, in
almost every cabin of the West. Reading-books were
scarce then throughout the country, in comparison with
the present time ; in the wilds of Ohio they were not so
plentiful as panthers and wolves. Many of ^e few books
found there related to exciting adventures with beasts
of prey, hair-breadth escapes on perilous waters, and
the daring exploits of pirates and rascals ; and they
were illustrated with very poor pictures. Three or four
volumes, besides the Bible and school-books, constituted
the whole literary outfit of the Garfields. They had
more brains than books, as the sequel will abundantly
prove.
. The village where the school was located was not

GETTING ON, 27

much of a village after all. In addition to the log
school-house, eighteen by twenty feet, there was a grist-
mill, and a log-house, in a part of which was a store,
the other part being used for a dwelling. The place is
now known by the name of Chagrin Falls, and derived
its singular name from the following fact. A bright
Yankee began the settlement, attracted thither by the
stream of water. He removed to the place in the winter
time, when the stream was swollen and swift, and he
erected a saw-mill. But when the summer came the
stream dried up, and his hopes dried up with it. His
chagrin was so great over his dry enterprise that he
named the locality as above, in order to warn his Yankee
relations against repeating his folly.

We cannot delay to rehearse much that transpired
in school during this first term that James attended.
Two or three matters of special interest only can be
noticed.

We have said that James was very familiar with
Bible stories ; and we have intimated, too, that he was
very inquisitive. His questions often created a laugh
in school, both teacher and scholars enjoying their
originality and pertinency very much. The fact was,
James meant to understand things as he went along, and
so his active brain put many inquiries over which the
school was merry. They were not merry because his
questions were pointless and childish ; far otherwise.
They were merry because such a little fellow showed so
much brightness and precocity by his inquiries. Scholars
and teachers came to regard him as a sort of prodigy.

One day, at noon, an older scholar set him upon the
table, saying :

" Now, Jimmy, you be master and ask questions, and
we will be scholars and answer them."

28 FROM LCG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

"Take 'oo seats, then," responded Jimmy, by way
of consenting, his bright eyes sparkling with delight.

The pupils took their seats in glee.

"Now go ahead, Jimmy," cried out Jacob Lander.
" Don't ask too hard questions."

Jimmy immediately began on his hobby— Bible ques-
tions.

"Who made the ark.?"

" Noah," answered a half-dozen voices.

" Who told him to make the ark ? "

" God," replied several.

"What for did God want he should make the ark V

There was a pause ; no one answered. It was one
of Jacob Lander's hard questions, that James should
have avoided. After waiting in vain for an answer, he
answered it himself

"To save his self and family in."

" Save from what \ " cried out Jacob.

" From the flood," replied James.

" Who was the oldest man } " James continued.

" Methusaleh," several answered.

" How old was he > "

Nobody could tell, and so James told them.

" Who was the meekest man t "

" Moses," was the prompt answer.

" Who had a coat of many colours } '*

" Joseph," equally prompt.

" Who was swallowed in the Red Sea ?**

Nobody replied. He told.

And thus, for ten or fifteen minutes, this child of
not quite four years interrogated the scholars around
him, presenting one of the most marvellous scenes on
record, whether in wilderness or city. From his earliest
years his memory was very remarkable, embracing and

GETTING ON. 29

retaining stories, facts, and whatever he heard, with
unusual accuracy. He acquired very much information
in school by listening to the recitations of other and
older pupils. Nothing was more common during his
first term at school, than for him to repeat at home
something he had learned from the recitations of older
scholars. Then, too, nothing escaped his notice. .His
faculty of observation was ever on the alert. Language,
manners, apparel, methods of work, conversation, almost
everything attracted his attention ; so that he was ever
surprising friends, from his childhood, by the amount of
information he possessed.

He was a great imitator, too. Children differ very
much in this regard. James was one in whom this
faculty appeared to be large by inheritance. It was
encouraging to behave well in his presence, it was
perilous and doubly wicked to set a bad example before
him. Coupled with his observation, this quality made
him sharp and critical, for one of his years.

"School will keep through the winter," said Mehetabel
to her mother, as she came home one day near the close
of the term. " Jacob's father is raising the money to
pay the master."

" How did you learn } I have not heard of it,"
answered Mrs. Garfield.

" Several of the scholars said so ; and they are all
going."

" Going to have a vacation } " inquired her mother.

" Yes ; two or three weeks ; school will begin in
December for the winter."

" I am very glad indeed that you can have such an
opportunity to attend school," continued her mother.

" Then I can go, can I ? "

" Yes ; you can all go except Jimmy. He cannot go

30 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

SO far fn the winter ; and it will be too hard for you to
carry him through the snow."

^ Will Tom go?"

^* I hope so ; he has worked very hard that the rest
of you might go, and now he should go."

Ten minutes afterwards Thomas was discussing
the matter, and presenting reasons why he could not
attend.

" I shall find enough to do taking care of the cows
and chopping wood, even if there is no snow to shovel,
which is not very likely."

" But we must let some things go undone, if possible,
that you may learn when you can," suggested his
mother. " In this new country you must take education
when you can get it."

" I can study at home, evenings and stormy days,"
replied Thomas.

"That is what Jimmy must do — study at home,"
continued Mrs. Garfield. " He has a good start now,
and he can make a good reader before next summer."

The result was that Thomas did not attend the
winter term, nor James. Their two sisters went, and
Mrs. Garfield instructed James and assisted Thomas
somewhat in his studies.

Long winter evenings in the woods were favourable
for study by the light of the blazing fire, that made the
cabin more cheerful even than it was in the day-time.
Pioneers could not afford the luxury of a tallow candle
or an oil lamp. Sometimes they adopted a substitute
for both — the pitch-pine knot. But usually in winter
pioneers depended upon the light of the fireplace. Fire-
places were very large, so as to admit logs four feet
long, with a quantity of smaller fuel in like proportion.
When the mass of combustible material was fairly

GETTING ON. 31

ablaze, the light and heat penetrated into every corner
of the cabin ; and the heat below greatly modified the
excessive cold of the loft above.

That winter was a memorable one for James. He
made decided progress in spelling and reading before
the next summer came, with its hot days and growing
crops. It was after the winter was over and gone, and
the warm sunlight was bathing the forests and gladden-
ing the earth, that James, somehow, came into posses-
sion of a child's volume — either it was a present or was
borrowed of a neighbour, — from which he derived much
real pleasure. One day he spelled out and read aloud
the following line :

" The rain came pattering on the roof"

" Why, mother ! " he shouted, under visible excite-
ment, " I've heard the rain do that myself."

" You have } "

" Why, yes, I have," he continued, as if a new revela-
tion were made to him. And then he read the line
over again, with more emphasis and louder than
before,—

" The rain came pattering on the roof."

"Yes, mother, I've heard it just so!" and the little
fellow appeared to be struggling with a thought larger
than ever tasked his mind before. It was the first time,
' probably, that he had learned the actual use of words to
represent things, to describe objects and events — the
outside world, on paper.

From that time James was introduced into a new
world — a world of thought. Words expressed thoughts
to him, and books contained words ; and so he went
for books with all his mind, and might, and strength.
There was nothing about the cabin equal to a book.
He preferred the " English Reader " to anything that

32 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

could be raised on the little farm. He revelled in books
— such books as he could find at that time when there
was a dearth of books. Day after day the " English
Reader " was his companion. He would lie flat upon
the cabin floor by the hour, or sprawl himself out under
a tree, on a warm summer day, with the "English
Reader " in his hand, exploring its mines of thought,
mastering its wonderful knowledge, and making himself
familiar with its inspiring contents. This was before
the lad was five years old ; and he was scarcely six
years old when he had committed to memory a great
portion of that " Reader." Other volumes, too, occupied
much of his attention, though none to such an extent as
the " English Reader." Such was his childish devotion
to books that his mother could scarcely refrain from
prophesying, even then, an intellectual career for him.
She knew not how it could be done — all the surround-
ings of the family were unfriendly to such an experi-
ence— but somehow she was made to feel that there
was a wider, grander field of action f^r that active,
precocious mind.

IV.

TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS.

" We can have a school-house nearer to us," remarked
Mrs. Garfield to Mr. Boynton. ** For the sake of my
James, I wish we could have."

" There are scarcely enough families yet to make such
a change," replied Mr. Boynton ; " some of them would
have to go as far as they do now."

" That is very true ; but more families would have a
shorter distance to go than they have now. I think
that fact is worth considering."

Mrs. Garfield was giving utterance, for the first time,
to thoughts that had been in her mind for several
months.- In her own mind she had numbered the
families which might be induced to unite in erecting a
log school-house upon one corner of her farm. She
continued :

" Suppose you inquire of Mr. Collins and others, and
learn what they think about it. If eight or ten families
will unite, or even eight families, we can have a school
nearer home. I will give the land on which to build the
house ; and three days' labour by seven or eight men
will complete the building. It is not a long or expen-
sive job, and it is just the time to start now, if the thing
is to be done."

"Perhaps it can be done," Mr. Boynton answered
thoughtfully. "The more I look at it, the less difficult

33 D

34 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

it seems. I will consult the neighbours you mention,
and others, too. I should be as pleased as anybody to
have it done." And as he spoke the last sentence he
turned towards home.

Without recording the details of this new enterprise,
we need only say, that it was very easily accomplished ;
and before winter set in, a log school-house stood on
the Garfield farm. Neighbours welcomed the project,
especially because it would be an advantage to Widow
Garfield, whom they very much respected, and to whom
their warmest sympathies had always been tendered in
her affliction.

"Now you can go to school by your own convey-
ance," said Thomas to Jimmy, one day after the school-
house was finished. " You won't have to make a beast
of burden of Hit any longer. You will like that won't
you.?"

James assented ; when his mother added :

" Your master is coming from New Hampshire, where
I was born. You will like him ; and he is to board here
to begin with."

Mrs. Garfield had four children, and Mr. Boynton six,
to go to school, — ten in all from two families.

It was through Mrs. Garfield's influence that the
school -house was built ; and then, it was through her
influence that a schoolmaster was imported from New
Hampshire. The school-house was twenty feet square,
with puncheon floor, slab roof, and log benches without
backs, — large enough to accommodate twenty-five
scholars. Teachers always "boarded round," dividing
the time equally among the families ; and it was con-
sidered quite an advantage to a family of children to
have the " master " board with them.

By hard labour, assisted by his mother and sisters,

TRIALS AMD TRIUMPHS. 35

Thomas harvested the crops in the autumn, cut and
hauled wood, and did other necessary work, so that he
could attend the winter term of school with his sisters
and James. He had everything about the farm in fine
order when December and the schoolmaster, whose
name was Foster, arrived. They came together, and
one was about as rough as the other. The "master"
was a young man of twenty years, uncouth in his
appearance, large and unwieldy, but a sensible sort of
a Yankee, who had picked up considerable knowledge
without going to school or reading much. On the
whole, he was full as much of a man as pioneers could
expect for the small wages they were able to pay. He
was kind-hearted, of good character, and was really in-
fluenced by a strong desire to benefit his pupils.

He took up his abode at the beginning of school with
Mrs. Garfield, and slept in the loft with Thomas and
James. At once his attention was drawn to James, as
a very precocious child. Good terms were established
between them ; and when they started off together for
the school-house, on the first day of school, the teacher
said to him, putting his hand kindly on his head :

"If you learn well, my boy, you may grow up yet and
be a General."

James did not know exactly what a General was, but
then he concluded that a General must be some great
affair, or a schoolmaster would not speak so favourably
of him. The remark fastened upon the lad's mind ;
somehow he felt, all through the day, that he was be-
ginning just then to make a General, whatever that
might be. It was not out of his mind for a minute ;
and he laboured somewhat upon the point, hew long a
time it would take to make him into a General. How-
ever, he knew that there was one being who stood

36 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

between him, and all learning, and all the future— and
that being was his mother. What he did not know, she
would know. As soon as he reached home, after school,
he inquired :

" Ma, what's a gen'ral ? '*

"What's what?" his mother answered, not compre-
hending his question.

" What's a gen'ral ? " James repeated, somewhat more
distinctly.

" Oh, I see now — a General ! " she answered ; " that
is what you want to know."

" Yes ; the master said I might make a gen'ral if I
learn."

" That is what put it into your head, then," continued
his mother, laughing. "You don't know whether you
would like to be one or not, I suppose : is that it } "

" I want to know what it is," James replied.

"Well, I will tell you, my son, for your great-grand-
father fought in the Revolutionary War under a General.
You ought to know something about that, and some-
thing about your ancestors, too, as well as about a
General."

She proceeded to tell him about his paternal ances-
tors : " How Edward Garfield came to this country from
England, with John Winthrop, John Endicott, Francis
Higginson, and many other Puritans, to escape oppres-
sion at home, settled in Watertown, Mass., which was
as much of a wilderness then as Ohio was when your
father removed here. The Indians were his neighbours,
and he bought land of them, and lived in peace with
them. There he and his descendants lived, some of
them removing into other towns, and many of them
among the most influential citizens of that time. By-
and-by, England, the mother-country, made war upon

h'

TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS, 37

the people there, and the fight of Concord Bridge
occurred on the 19th of April, 1775. The soldiers of
England wore red coats, glistening with brass buttons,
and they carried guns with which to shoot down the
farmers and people of Massachusetts Colony, unless they
would surrender and obey the king of England. But
the men would do neither. They seized their guns,
determined to defend themselves, and shoot the red-
coats rather than continue to be subject to the king.
Your great-uncle, Abraham Garfield, was among the
soldiers at Concord Bridge. This was the beginning of
the Revolutionary War, in which our soldiers fought
bravely for their rights, and your great-grandfather,
Solomon Garfield, was one of them. Then our soldiers
wore blue coats, trimmed with brass buttons, and they
were led by Generals who were the most distinguished
men, like General Washington. The Generals wore
coats that shone with gold lace, and epaulets, or orna-
ments, pn their shoulders, and, hats like the one General
Washington wears in the almanac picture, made showy
with gold lace and a feather. Generals carried swords
instead of guns ; and they rode horseback, and led the
soldiers into battle. I hope we shall never want any
more Generals in this country, for it is terrible to shoot
down men as they do in war. But by study and learn-
ing you can make a man equal to a General, and be as
honoured, without killing your fellow-men.

" When the Revolutionary War was over, your great-
grandfather removed into the State of New York, where
he had a son whom he named Thomas. Thomas grew
up to be a man, and was married, and had a son whom
he named Abram ; and this Abram was your father.
Now, it will be easy for you to remember, that Solomon
Garfield was your great-grandfather, a soldier of the

38 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

American Revolution ; that Thomas Garfield, a pioneer
of New York State, was your grandfather ; and Abram,
his son, a pioneer of Ohio, was your father. There was
no General among all your ancestors, though some of
them were equal to Generals. If you should ever be-
come a General, you will be what no one of your ances-
tors ever was, as far back as we can trace them — two
hundred and fifty years."

James listened to this recital with wonder. He
scarcely knew before that he was connected with the
world outside of the Ohio wilderness. Now, he clearly
understood that his relations acted a conspicuous part
in settling America, and were people of much conse-
quence. It was a new and inspiring thought to him.
His cabin home was invested with new interest and
more importance. How far his life was influenced by
this revelation of the past, we cannot say, but there is
no doubt that his active brain was stirred to nobler
thought, and his young heart stamped by indelible im-
pressions.

James believed in his teacher, and his teacher believed
in him. There was mutual attraction from the outset.
The teacher saw that the backwoods boy was a great
man in embryo. He was glad to have such a scholar
under his tuition. He was somewhat taken aback, how-
ever, by subsequent occurrences. The second day of
school he established the following rule :

" Scholars cannot study their lessons and look about
the schoolroom : therefore gazing about is strictly for-
bidden."

It was a novel rule to the pupils. It savoured of more
strictness than they had been accustomed to. It was a
very difficult rule for James to observe. He acquired
much information by his close observation. His two

TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS, 39

eyes and two ears were more than books to him. Be-
sides he had never undertaken to perform the feat of
sitting bolt upright upon a log bench without a back,
and looking down upon his book with steady gaze. It
was a severe ordeal for a boy who never sat still in his
life, and who evidently was not constructed upon the
principle of sitting still. However, his heart accepted
the rule, and he meant to do the best that he could with
it. If he were to make a General, or something else as
good, he must do as the "master" told him to do. As
much as that was clear to him. But the first thing
he knew, his eyes were off his book, and on the class
reciting.

*• James ! " said the teacher pleasantly, " have you for-
gotten the rule so quick .? "

" I forgot," was James' laconic reply ; and down
dashed his eyes upon his book. Not long, however. A
taking answer to a question in the class on the floor
brought up his eyes again, as if by magic.

" What ! so soon forgetting the rule again, James .^ "
exclaimed the teacher. "You have a very short
memory."

James looked down upon his book abashed, but he
made no reply. The fact was, he meant to mind the
rule and do his best to please his teacher. But it was
never intended that two such eyes and two such ears as
James possessed should come under a rule hke that.
The teacher was unwittingly at fault here. He did not
quite understand his pupil ; and so he insisted upon the
observance of the rule, and for two weeks continued to
correct James, hoping that he would finally bring his
eyes and ears into complete subjection. But his effort
was fruitless. James was incorrigible, when he meant
to be obedient, and he grew nervous under the disci-

40 FI^OM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUiiE.

pline. He thought so much about keeping his eyes in
the prescribed place that he could think very little about
his lessons ; and so he became comparatively dull and
defective in his recitations.

At length, just before the teacher left Mrs. Garfield's
for another boarding-place, he said to her, in James*
presence :

" I do not want to wound your feelings, James is such
a noble boy ; but then I want to tell you "

" Say on," replied Mrs. Garfield, quite startled by the
solemn tone of the " master."

"James is not quite the boy in school that I ex-
pected."

" How so } " interrupted Mrs. Garfield, completely
taken by surprise. " You astonish me."

" I know that you will be grieved, but I think it is my
duty to tell you." And Mrs. Garfield could see that he
shrunk from telling her, and she began to think that
something awful had happened ; still she repeated :

" Say on."

" Well, it is only this : James don't sit still, and he
don't learn his lessons. I fear that I shall not be able
to make a scholar of him."

" Oh, James ! " his mother exclaimed, as if the teacher
had put a shot through her body. That was all she
said ; and it was uttered in a tone of agony that went
straight to the little fellow's heart, as he stood looking
and listening. She sent him to school that he might
make a scholar, and now her hopes were dashed in a
moment. No wonder that her response was an ex-
clamation of disappointment and grief !

" I will be a good boy," ejaculated James, bursting
into tears, and burying his face in his mother's lap. " I
mean to be a good boy." And he never told more truth

TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS. 41

in a single sentence than he did in the last one It
never will do for a philosopher, however wise, to attempt
to repress the centrifugal force of nature ; and that was
what the teacher was trying to do.

" Perhaps he can't sit still," at length Mrs. Garfield
suggested ; " he never was still in his life."

" I will sit still," was the boy's response, still sobbing
as if his heart would burst, yet speaking before the
teacher had time to reply.

" Perhaps so," answered the teacher, thoughtfully, as
if the grieved mother had awakened a new idea in him.

" I never knew him to fail of learning before," Mrs,
Garfield continued ; " never."

" I will learn, mother ! " the boy shouted between his
sobs.

" You mean to learn, I have no doubt," answered his
mother. " Some boys do worse than they intend ;
perhaps that is the trouble with you."

"You dear child," said the teacher, putting his hand
upon his head, touched by the lad's piteous appeals ;
" you and I are good friends, and I think we shall have
no more trouble. I will try you again. So wipe up,
and let us laugh and not cry."

The teacher saw his mistake. The child's mother had
opened his eyes by her wise suggestion. In his mind he
resolved to let the centrifugal force alone, and adopt
another policy. So the subject was dropped, and James
went to school on the following day, to sit still or not, as
he pleased. The teacher resolved to leave him to him-
self, and see what the effect would be. The result was
excellent. The boy did not sit still, of course he did
not ; but he was natural and happy, and his eyes
fulfilled their function in roaming about more or less,
and his ears heard what was going on in the school-

42 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

house. The teacher could not make a blind and deaf
boy of him, any way, and so he ceased to try. He
allowed him to see and hear for himself ; and it just
filled the lad with happiness. It fired his ambition, and
brought out his brilliant parts, so that he became the
star of the school.

It was quite a number of days before Mrs. Garfield
saw the teacher again, as he went to board with another
family. Then he called to cheer the mother, whom he
had so thoroughly grieved. Her first question was, as
he entered her house —

" How does James do now } "

" Oh, grandly," the teacher replied, in a tone that
indicated great satisfaction in being able to speak so
approvingly.

" I am so glad ! " was the mother's only response ;
and her heart was healed.

** He is perpetual motion in school," continued the
teacher, " but he learns ; no scholar learns so fast as he."

" Then you have given up your rule ? " Mrs. Garfield
remarked, inquiringly.

" Yes ; I think you are right about him. Such a rule
cramps him ; he can't be himself under it. I guess he
tried hard to obey it."

" Children are very unlike," continued Mrs. Garfield.
"James is unlike my other children in his restlessness
and energy, as well as in his precociousness. I hope
that he will come out all right."

"Come out all right," responded the teacher. "My
word for it, he will make his mark in the world ; you
can depend on that."

" I hope so ; " and Mrs. Garfield put her whole
mother's heart into those last three words.

The restive nature of James was a theme of remark

TRIALS AND 'IKIUMPHS. 43

frequently. Thomas sometimes complained of it. He
slept with James, and the latter would toss and tumble
about, often awaking Thomas by his movements, kick-
ing off the clothes, and thereby putting himself and
brother to considerable inconvenience. Often he would
turn over, and feeling cold after having kicked off the
bedclothes, he would say in his sleep, —

" Tom, cover me up."

Thomas would pull the clothing over him, and lie
down to his dreams, but only to repeat the operation
again and again. It was said of James, twenty-five
years after that time, when he had become a General,
that, one night, after a terrible battle, he laid down with
other officers to sleep, and in his restlessness he kicked
off his covering ; then, turning partly over, he said, —

" Tom, cover me up."

An officer pulled the blanket over him, and awoke
him by the act. On being told of his request in his
sleep, James thought of his good brother Thomas and
of the little log-house in the woods of Ohio ; and he
turned over and wept, as he did in childhood when the
teacher concluded that he could not make a General of
him.

At the beginning of the school the teacher had said :

" At the close of the term I shall present this Testa-
ment (holding up a pretty Testament of rather diminu-
tive size) to the best scholar, — best in study, behaviour,
and all that makes a good scholar."

It was a new thing to them, and it proved quite an
incentive to most of the pupils. Several tried hard
for it; but it was pretty well understood before the
term was half through who would have the book. None
were surprised, when, at the close of the last day of
school, the teacher said, —

44 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

" James ! step this way/'

James lost no time in obeying.

"This book," passing the Testament to him, "Is
yours. I think you have fairly earned it as the best
scholar in school. I have no fault to find with any
scholar; but your remarkable progress entitles you to
the book."

The pupils were all satisfied ; James a happy boy,
and his mother wept tears of joy.

From the time that James was permitted to be him-
self in school, his advancement was remarkable. Every
teacher regarded him as a boy of uncommon talents,
and every scholar was attracted to him as by magnetic
influence. He read every book that he could beg or
borrow ; yet he was efficient to assist Thomas on the
farm at six years of age. He went to school whenever
there was a school ; but that was only a few weeks in
a year. He improved his evenings and leisure time at
home, however, and all the books at hand were read
over and over, until he was perfectly familiar with their
contents. His mental appetite was always craving, nor
was it ever gorged by excess of food. It appeared to
be capable of appropriating and digesting all that the
times and locality could furnish.

About this time the Garfield and Boynton children
formed a kind of club for improvement in spelling. The
spelling-book became the field of their exploits. They
studied it enthusiastically, and drilled each other in its
contents, as if they meant to master it. The result was
great proficiency in spelling — all of them excelling their
companions at school. The drill was of great advantage
to them in spelling-matches, when the winter school
was going ; especially to James, who became quite an
enthusiast in that branch. He was the best speller in

TklALS AND TRIUMPHS, 41J

school, when more than half the pupils were older than
he. Some of them said that James could spell every
word in the book correctly. Whether he could or not,
in choosing sides for a spelling-match, James was sure
to be the first one chosen.

V.

BOY FARMER.

At eiglit years of age, James had his daily labour to
perform as steadily as Thomas. The latter went out
to work among the neighbours, often imposing thereby
quite a responsibility upon James, who looked after the
stock and farm at home. He could chop wood, milk
cows, shell corn, cultivate vegetables, and do many
other things that farmers must do.

It was very great assistance to the family when
Thomas could earn a little money by his labour. That
money procured some indispensable articles, the absence
of which was a real privation both to mother and
children. They needed more money now than ever,
because all must have shoes, and all must have books ;
and there were the teachers to pay, and occasional
meetings at the school-house now were some expense.
So that the earnings of Thomas just met a demand
of the time, in which every member of the household
shared.

" You are eight years old, my son, and Thomas is
seventeen," said Mrs. Garfield to James. " Thomas was
not eleven years old when your father died, and he had
to take your father's place on the farm. You must be
getting ready to take Thomas's place, for he will soon
be of age, and then he will have to go out into the

±6

^A BOY FARMER. 47

■world to seek his fortune, and you will have to take care
of the farm."

"I can do that," James answered.

**Not without learning how to do it," said his mother.
" * Practice makes perfect,' is an old and true proverb,"

" I know that I can take care of the farm if Tom
could," interrupted James, with some assurance.

"Yes, when you are as old as he," suggested his
mother.

" That is what I mean, — when I get to be as old as
he was."

" I hope that some day you will do something better
than farming," continued Mrs. Garfield.

" What is there better than farming ? " James asked.

" It is better for some men to teach and preach.
Wouldn't you like to teach school } "

" When I am old enough, I should."

" Well, it won't be long before you are old enough.
If you are qualified, you can teach school when you are
as old as Thomas is now."

" When I am seventeen } " James responded with
some surprise. All of his teachers had been older than
that, and he could scarcely see how he could do the
same at seventeen.

" Yes, at seventeen or eighteen. Many young men
teach school as early as that. But farming comes first
in order, as we are situated."

** And it is time to get the cows now," remarked
James, hurrying off for them, and terminating the con-
versation.

James was a self-reliant boy, just the one to take
hold of farm work with tact and vigour. He scarcely
knew what " / can't " meant. It was an expression that
he never used. The phrase that he had just employed

48 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

in reply to his mother, " / can do that;' was a common
one with him. Once it put him into a laughable
position. He was after hens' eggs in the barn, with his
playmate Edwin Mapes. It was just about the time
he was eight years old, perhaps a little older. Edwin
found a pullet's ^g^, rather smaller than they usually
discovered.

" Isn't that cunning ? " said Edwin, holding up the

egg-

" I can swaller that," was James' prompt answer.

"Whole.?"

'* Yes, whole."

" You can't do it."

" I can do it."

" I dare you to swaller it," continued Edwin, eager
to see the experiment tried.

" Not much to dare me to," responded James. " Here
it goes ; " and into his mouth the tgg went, proving
larger than he anticipated, or else his throat was
smaller, for it would not go down at his bidding.

"No use, Jim," exclaimed Edwin, laughing outright
over his failure. " The tgg is small, but it won't fit
your throat."

" It's going down, yet," said James, resolutely, and
the second time the ^gg was thrust into his mouth.

" Shell and all, I s'pose," remarked Edwin. " S'pose
it should stick in your crop, you'd be in a pretty fix."

" But it won't stick in my crop," replied James ; " it's
goin' down. I undertook to swaller it, and I'm goin'
to."

The ^gg broke in his mouth when he almost un-
consciously brought his teeth together, making a very
disagreeable mush of shell and meat. It was alto-
gether too much of a good thing,* and proved rather a

BOY FARMER.

49

nauseating dose. His stomach heaved, his face
scowled, and Edwin roared ; still James held to the
egg, and made for the house as fast as his nimble
limbs could take him, Edwin following after, to learn
what next. Rushing into the house, James seized a
piece of bread, thrust it into his mouth, chewed it up
with the dilapidated ^ggy and swallowed the whole to-
gether.

" There ! " he exclaimed, "it's done."

He did what he said he would, excepting only that
the ^g^ did not find its way down the throat whole ; and
he felt like a conqueror. Edwin swayed to and fro with
laughter ; and, although forty years have elapsed since
that day, it is not impossible for him to get up a laugh
over it still. Mrs. Garfield looked on with curious in-
terest, not comprehending the meaning of the affair until
an explanation followed. Then she only smiled, and
said, '' Foolish boy ! "

It was true, what she said. He was a "foolish boy"
to undertake such a feat; "foolish," just as many
promising boys are "foolish" at times. But the spirit
of the lad appeared through the " foolish " act. Never-
theless, the " / can " element of his character rather
dignified the performance. The more we think of it the
more we are inclined to take back our endorsement of
that word " foolish," because the act was an outcome of
his self-reliance. When William Carey, the renowned
missionary to India, was a boy, he possessed a daring,
adventurous spirit, that expressed itself in climbing trees
and buildings, and in going where, and doing what, few
boys would do because of the peril. One day he fell
from the top of a tree, on which he perched like an owl,
and broke one of his legs. He was confined to the
house and bed several weeks ; but the first thing he did

50 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

on liis recovery was to climb that identical tree to its
very top, and seat himself on the bough from which he
had fallen, to show that the feat was not impossible.
There is no doubt that his mother called him " a foolish
boy," to risk his limbs and life again on the tree ; but
his admirers have ever loved to rehearse the deed, as
proof of the boy's invincible, reliant spirit. No one who
reads of Carey's immense labours for the heathen, his
fearlessness in great danger, his hair-breadth escapes
from death, his tact and coolness in every emergency,
can fail to see that his " foolish " act of climbing the tree
was a good illustration of the maxim, that " The boy is
father of the man."

James was not egotistical or self-confident ; these are
no part of self-reliance. Nor was he proud ; pride is no
part of self-reliance. He was not conscious of having
anything to be proud of. No boy was ever more simple-
hearted and confiding in others than was he. He did
not tell his mother that he could run the farm because he
overrated his abilities ; it was the honest expression of
what he was willing to do, and what bethought he could
do. It was the opposite of that inefficient, irresolute
boyhood that exclaims, " I can't," when it ought to be
ashamed to say it ; and when a decided, hearty, " I can,'*
would prove a trumpet-call to duty, rallying all the
powers to instant action. This was one thing that en-
couraged his mother to expect so much of him when he
should become a man. On one occasion, after he began
to labour on the farm, and quite a task was before him,
she said to him :

" James, half the battle is in thinking you can do a
thing. My father used to say, 'Where there's a will,
there's a way ; ' repeating a proverb that is as old as the
hULs."

BOY FARMER. 54

"What does that mean ?" interrupted James, referring
to the proverb.

" It means, that he who wiHs to do anything zvill do
it. That is, the boy who relies upon himself, and deter-
mines to perform a task in spite of difficulties, will
accomplish his purpose. You can do that ? " And his
mother waited for a reply.

" I can," James answered, with emphasis.

" Depend upon yourself. Feel that you are equal to
the work in hand, and it will be easily done. ' God
helps those who help themselves,' it is said, and I believe
it. He has helped me wonderfully since your father
died. I scarcely knew which way to turn when he
died ; I scarcely saw how I could live here in the woods ;
and yet I could find no way to get out of them and live.
But just as soon as I fell back upon God and myself,
I took up the cross, and bore it easily. We have fared
much better than I expected ; and it is because I was
made to feel that * Where . there's a will, there's a
way.' God will bless all our efforts to do the best we
can."

" What '11 He do when we don't do the best wx can } "
inquired James.

" He will withhold His blessing ; and that is the
greatest calamity that could possibly happen to us.
We can do nothing well without His blessing."

" I thought God only helped people be good,'' re-
marked James, who was beginning to inquire within
himself wh^her He helped farmers.

" God helps folks to be good in everything — good
boys, good men, good workers, good thinkers, good
farmers, good teachers, good everything. And without
His help we can be good in nothing."

James drank in every word, and looked very much as?

5« FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

if he believed that he and God could run the farm
successfully. His mother continued :

" If you do one thing well you will do another well,
and so on to the end. You will soon learn that your
own efforts are necessary to accomplish anything, and so
you will form the habit of depending upon yourself —
the only way to make the most of yourself"

Such was the instruction that James received from the
wisest of mothers, just when such lessons respecting self-
reliance would do him the most good. It was on this
line that he was started off in his boyhood, and he
followed that line thereafter. He had no one to help
him upward, and he had no desire to have anybody help
him. Unlike boys who depend upon some rich father
or uncle to give them " a good start," or upon superior
advantages, he settled down upon the stubborn fact, that
if anything was ever made out of him he must do it
himself. Hard work was before him, and hard fare, and
he expected nothing less. A statesman who rose from
obscurity to eminence once said, " Whatever may be
thought of my attainments, it must be conceded that I
made as much out of the stuff put into my hands as was
possible." That the germ of such an impulse must have
taken root in James' heart early, is quite evident from
some remarks of his to young men after he was forty
years old.

" Occasion cannot make spurs, young men. If you
expect to wear spurs, you must win them. If you
wish to use them, you must buckle them to your own
heels before you go into the fight. Any success you
may achieve is not worth having unless you fight for it.
Whatever you win in life you must conquer by your
own efforts, and then it is yours — a part of yourself.
. . . Let not poverty stand as an obstacle in your

BOY FARMER.

5i

VI ay. Poverty is uncomfortable, as I can testify ; but
nine times out of ten the best thing that can happen to
a young man is to be tossed overboard, and compelled
to sink or swim for himself. In all my acquaintance
I have never known one to be drowned who was worth
saving. ... To a young man who has in him-
self the magnificent possibilities of life it is not fitting
that he should be permanently commanded ; he should
be a commander. You must not continue to be em-
ployed; you must be an employer. You must be pro-
moted from the ranks to a command. There is some-
thing, young men, that you can command ; go and find
it, and command it. You can at least command a horse
and dray, can be generalissimo of them, and may carve
out a fortune with them."

Another incident of James' early life illustrates the
phase of his character in question, and, at the same time,
shows his aptitude in unexpected emergencies. He was
eight or ten years of age when it occurred, a pupil in
school with his cousin, Henry Boynton. Sitting side
by side, one day they became more roguish than usual,
without intending to violate the rules of school. Sly
looks and an occasional laugh satisfied the teacher, who
was a sharp disciplinarian, that something unusual was
going on, and he concluded that the wisest treatment
would be to stop it at once.

"James and Henry!" he called out, loudly, "lay aside
your books and go home, both of you."

A clap of thunder would not have startled them more.
They looked at each other seriously, as if the result was
entirely unexpected, and delayed for a moment.

"Don't dillv-dally," exclaimed the teacher ; "both of
you go home immediately."

" I will gr/' answered James. Henry said nothing ;

54 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

and both passed out. James made an express of his
dexterous legs, shortening the distance from the school-
house to home to about three or four minutes, and an
equal time to return. Returning to school, he entered
the room, puffing like an engine, and resumed his seat.

" James ! did I not tell you to go home ? " shouted
the teacher, never dreaming that the boy had had time
to obey the mandate.

"I have been home," answered James, not in the least
disconcerted. He had obeyed his teacher promptly,
though he took very good care that his mother did not
see him when he reached the cabin.

** Been home } " responded the teacher, inquiringly,
surprised that the boy had been home in so short a
time.

" Yes, sir, I have been home," replied James ; " you
didn't tell me to stay^

" Well, you can stay here now," answered the teacher
with a smile, thinking that was the best way to dispose
of so good a joke. James remained, and was very care-
ful not to be sent home again, lest the affair might not
terminate so pleasantly. Henry sulked about the school-
house for a while, and then went home and stayed the
remainder of the day. That was the difference between
the two boys. James saw the way out of the trouble at
once, through the most literal obedience, and, believing
that he was equal to the emergency, he started promptly
to fulfil the command. He was neither sulky nor re-
bellious, but happy as a lark, lively as a cricket, and
smiling as a morning in May. Such a little episode
rather tightened the bond existing between the teacher
and James. The former discovered more of that sharp
discrimination and practical wit in the affair, for which
he had already lerrned that James was distinguished.

BOY FARMER, 5<

James was now eleven years old, and Thomas was
twenty. The district concluded to erect a frame school-
house, and sold the old one to Thomas for a trifle.
Thomas and James, assisted by their cousins, the Boynton
boys, took it down, and put it up again directly in the rear
of their mother's cabin, thus providing her with an ad-
ditional room, which was a great convenience. Thomas
did it in anticipation of leaving home when he should
attain his majority.

SUNDAY IN THE WOODS.

" Pioneers need a Sabbath full as much as anybody
else," was Mrs. Garfield's remark to James, and her other
children. " ' Remember the Sabbath day to keep it
holy,' is a commandment that must be kept in the woods
as faithfully as elsewhere. In large towns and cities
people prepare for this by building houses of worship,
some of them with tall and handsome spires, pointing to
heaven, with bells in the towers."

" What for do they want bells ? " inquired James, to
whom this announcement about houses of worship and
bells was a revelation. Neither James nor the other
children had seen a house of worship, or heard a Sabbath
bell, and their mother touched upon a theme as new and
fascinating as a novel when she described Sabbath scenes
in large towns.

" The bells call people to worship promptly, by ring-
ing at the time of meeting," Mrs. Garfield replied to
James' question.

" Bells would not be of much use to pioneers, who live
so far apart, even if they could afford to have them," she
continued.

" Wouldn't they sound splendid in the forests } " ex-
claimed James.

" Indeed they would," responded his mother ; " and

SUNDA V IN THE WOODS.

57

they would be good company, too. I imagine it would
not be so lonesome if Sabbath bells echoed through
the wilderness. But pioneers ought to be thankful that
they can ever have preaching, under any circumstances
whatever.'*

" I should like to live in a big town where they have
meetin'-houses with tall spires," added James.

" Perhaps you will some day," suggested his mother
" None of us will live to see them in this town,
probably."

The last remark was rather of a damper «pon James'
aspirations, who scarcely expected, then, ever to find
a home elsewhere. The foregoing conversation will
derive significance from an acquaintance with the
religious privileges of the family.

At the time of which we are speaking there was no
stated preaching in the vicinity of the Garfield estate.
The sect called Disciples held occasional services in
school-houses and dwelling-houses. These occasional
services began before the death of Mr. Garfield. As
the latter, with his wife, had united with that sect
before removing into the township of Orange, they were
especially ready to welcome the itinerant preacher to
their log-cabin, and to the school-house. Sometimes
the meeting was at a cabin or school-house five, six,
and even eight miles away. It was not unusual, in
James' boyhood, for pioneers to travel six and eight
miles to a religious meeting on Sunday. They went
with ox-teams and horse-teams, single and double, and
some men and boys walked the whole distance. Often,
in some sections, the father would ride horseback to
meeting, with his wife on a pillion behind him, carrying
her youngest child, the older children following on foot.
The meagre religious privileges were highly valued,

58 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

and there was much labour and hardship involved in
availing themselves of them.

The preachers of that day were illiterate men — good,
but uncultivated. They were pioneer preachers, just as
the settlers were pioneer settlers. They were well
suited, perhaps, to the times and locality — rough,
sincere, earnest men, who faund real satisfaction in
travelling through the destitute country, usually on
horseback, to do the people spiritual good. Occasion-
ally there was a remarkable preacher among them,
possessing great native ability, force of character, and
singular magnetic presence. These were especially
welcome, although any one of the number was received
cordially. In their travels they called at all cabins, as
pastors now make visits from house to house, their visits
being chiefly of a religious character. They ate and
lodged in cabins, wherever noon and night overtook
them. The best fare that a cabin had was cheerfully
set before them, and the best advice and sympathy the
preacher could command were freely proffered. It is
not possible for us, at this day, to say how great was
the influence of this pastoral work. Men may read
about it, and laugh over it now, but there can be no
doubt that it provided a much needed and indispensable
source of Christian power, influence, and enjoyment.
It contributed largely to make pioneer life nobler, and,
in an important sense, educational.

James enjoyed no better opportunities of religious
worship than we have described, before he was ten
years of age. Occasional worship was a privilege that
he highly prized, as others did. He did not readily let
slip an opportunity to attend public worship. And the
impressions it left upon his heart were gauged by his
deep interest in such occasions.

SUNDAY IN THE WOODS. 59

Whether there was any meeting or not, however, the
weekly Sabbath was recognised in the Garfield cabin.
No labour upon that day, except works of necessity,
K'as the rule carefully observed. The Bible stood in
the place of preacher. It was both read and studied.
Mrs. Garfield's, rule was to read four chapters daily on
week days, and more on the Sabbath, when she formally
expounded it in her sensible and thoughtful manner.
The children asked questions as well as she. James
was especially inquisitive about the Scriptures, and,
after he learned to read, he read them much, both on
the Sabbath and week days. Bible stories that he
learned from his mother's lips before he could speak
plainly, became invested with new charms when he
could read them at his leisure. He became so familiar
with many narratives, that he knew just where in the
Bible to turn to them ; and he had a multitude of
questions to ask about " God's book," as his mother
reverently called it.

" How-do you know that it is * God's book,' mother .''"
he asked.

"Because it is not like any book that man ever wrote."

"You said once that Moses, Isaiah, David, Matthew,
Paul, and others wrote it," recalling his mother's ex-
planation of different books.

" Yes, that is true, they did write it ; but they wrote
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. They could
not have written it without God's help. They wrote
just what God told them, by His Spirit, to write."

" And that is why you call it God's book ? " James
inquired.

" Yes ; He is the author of it, although He directed
men to write it, and guided them, also, in doing it"

"Are all the stories in it true stories? "

60 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

" Yes ; every one of them."

" Is it true that Joseph had a coat of many different
colours?"

** I expect it is."

" Why didn't he have a coat of 07te colour .? Would it
not be easier to make such a one .? "

" His father loved him more than he did his other
children, and, out of his partiality, he made such a coat
for him."

" Did he do right to love one of his children more
than he did others .? "

" No ; he did not."

" Was his father a good man } "

" Yes. Some good men do wrong."

" If good men do wrong, how do you know them
from bad men ? "

" They don't do so many wicked things, nor so bad
things, as bad men do."

" Can't good men stop doing bad things ? "

*' Yes, with God's help."

" Don't God always help them ? "

" No."

"Why don't He.?"

** Perhaps they don't deserve it."

" Can't men be good without His help .? "

" No ; and what is worse, they won't be."

••Why won't they .?"

" Because they are so wicked."

** How can they be good then ? " — meaning that he
could not see how a good man could be a wicked man
at the same time.

In this dialogue appears the inquisitiveness of James,
as well as his discrimination and thoughtfulness. Often
his mother was unable to answer his boyish questions

SUNDAY IN THE WOODS. 6l

about the Bible. Their depth and point confounded
her. It was here, especially, that she had unmistakable
proof of his remarkable talents. It was around the old
family Bible that the chief interest of the Sabbath
clustered in her rude home. It was to her family what
a Constitution is to the State, and what character is to
the individual. Largely it made up for the absence of
books, teachers, money, and conveniences. It would be
quite impossible to say how much unalloyed happiness
it contributed to the family. Certainly its wise teach-
ings were so indelibly impressed upon James' heart that
its contents were more familiar to him at forty years
of age than they are to most Christian men, so that
its figures, symbols, and laconic sentences adorned his
public addresses, to the admiration of listeners.

It is probable that James and his brother and sisters
received more real valuable lessons, to assist in the
formation of good habits, and to establish noble pur-
poses, in their western cabin, than the children of many
Christian families do from the constant ministrations of
public worship. The absence of religious advantages
was a good reason for the best improvement of the few
enjoyed. The mother, too, felt additional obligations
to guide, instruct, and mould the hearts of her offspring,
because there was so little outside of her cabin to aid
her. For these reasons, perhaps James enjoyed better
advantages to become distinguished than he would have
had in the more populous and wealthy parts of the
country.

When James was eight years old the Temperance
Reformation was moving on with power. The New
England states presented a scene of enthusiasm without
precedent, and the interest spread into north-eastern
Ohio. Even the cabins of pioneers were reached by the

62 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

wave of influence for temperance. Mrs. Garfield was
just the woman to welcome such a reform, and to
appreciate its true value. The subject was a fitting one
for the Sabbath, although it was not neglected on other
days. As the handmaid of religion, it challenged her
best thoughts and efforts.

" Drunkenness is a terrible sin," she said, " and I was
always glad that your father had the same view of it
that I have."

" Didn't he drink rum or whisky 1 " asked James.

" Seldom ; and he got out of patience with men
intoxicated. He thought they were very weak men by
nature."

" Why don't men stop drinking it, when it is hurting
them ?" James inquired.

" It is difficult to say why they don't. Some think
they can't do it."

" Can't stop ! " James exclaimed with surprise.

" It is said that they can't stop — that they form such
a terrible appetite that they can't control it."

" I would," responded James, with characteristic
firmness.

" Better never begin to use intoxicating liquors ; that
is the only safe course. It is easier not to begin to
go wrong, than it is to turn back and do better after
beginning."

" What do men drink liquor for .?"

" It would be difficult to tell what some of them
drink it for, I think. Most men drink it because they
like it, I suppose."

" Does it taste good } '*
. " I suppose it does to those who like it."

** I should like to taste of some just to see what it
tastes like," added James.

SUNDA Y IN THE WOODS, 63'

** I rather you would never know how it tastes, my
son. If you never taste it, you can never become a
drunkard, that is certain. *Look not thou upon the
wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the
cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth
like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.' Nothing
could be truer than that."

" What is there in rum that makes it hurt people so ?"
continued James.

" There is alcohol in it, and it is that which makes
drunkards. It don't hurt any one to drink milk or
water, does it ? "

" Of course it don't."

"Well, there's the difference between these whole-
some drinks and intoxicating liquors ; there . is no
alcohol in the milk and water."

"What for do they put alcohol into them if it hurts
people } "

Mrs. Garfield explained the last question as best she
could, assuring him that the alcohol was not put in, but
was developed in the drink by an artificial process, and
that men wanted to produce the alcohol in order to
make money.

In this way the great reformatory idea of that day
found a lodgment in the Garfield cabin. James did not
obtain a very definite idea of the enormous evil of
intemperance, living where he had no opportunity to
observe it ; but his idea was distinct enough to cause
him to abhor the cause of the woe. His mother gave
him facts enough respecting the curse of intemperance,
that had come under her own observation, to show hhn
that intemperance was a terrible evil, and his young
heart was fully resolved to avoid the way to it.

Another lesson that made Sunday in the woods a

64 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

memorable day to James, although it was prominent on
other days also, was loyalty to the country. Mrs.
Garfield's memory was full of facts respecting the sacri-
fices and sufferings of her ancestors to defend and
preserve American Independence ; and many an hour,
as we have already intimated, was whiled away in
recitals of their heroic deeds.

There is no doubt that James formed an exalted idea
of what we call Loyalty from these stories that were
so inspiring and marvellous to the young. It is often
the case that indirect methods fasten upon the young
mind so tenaciously that they outlast many lessons that
have been imparted with the utmost care and hopeful-
ness. It is certain that James derived an impulse from
some source, in regard to loyalty, that contributed to
make this virtue one of the most prominent elements
of his character in manhood. Although his mother
did not formally imitate the example of the father of
Hannibal, who led his son to the altar of his divinity
at eight years of age, and made him swear eternal hate
to Rome, yet she did what was tantamount to that,
and what secured as effectually the devotion of her son
to the defence of his country.

" Never be afraid to do what is right," Mrs. Garfield
remarked. " The biggest coward in the world is the
man who is afraid to do right."

" I shouldn't think men would be afraid to do right,"
remarked James.

" I shouldn't think boys would be afraid to do right,"
responded his mother, perceiving that James scarcely
thought there was an opportunity for this sort of bravery
in boyhood. " Boys don't dare to do right sometimes."

"When.?" inquired James, as if he questioned the
truth of the latter statement.

SUNDAY IN THE WOODS. 65

"When they don't dare to obey their mothers or teach-
ers because their companions don't want they should,"
answered his mother, intending to remind him of certain
facts in his own boyish life.

" I thought you meant when I got to be a man," said
James, with a look denoting that he was hit.

*' I meant when a boy, as well. If you don't begin to
stand up for the right when you are young, you never
will when you are old. * The boy is father of the man,'
is a proverb as true as it is old. Then a cowardly boy
is as contemptible as a cowardly man. Obey your
mother and teacher though all your companions laugh
at you."

" I do," answered James.

" Yes, I think you do, generally ; and I speak of it
now, that you may give even more attention to it in the
future than in the past, and grow more and more fearless
to oppose wrong as you grow older. When you be-
come a man you will meet with many more, and greater
temptations than you have now, and unless you have
more decision and courage you will not be equal to the
circumstances."

"Daniel's bravery got him into the den of lions,"
suggested James.

" Very true ; and it was better for him to be in a den
Df lions, with God on his side, than a friend of the king
with God against him. If you are like Daniel in moral
courage, I shall be satisfied. The lions could not devour
him so long as God was his friend ; and God is always
the friend of those who stand by the right."

James never had other than royal lessons upon moral
courage and kindred qualities. These things, which lie
at the very foundation of stability of character and
personal excellence, were ingrained into his early life.

F

66 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

The Sabbath furnished a favourable opportunity for
special efforts in this direction, though every day in the
v/eek bore witness in the same line.

We must not close this chapter without reference to
one fact connected with the Garfield family that is worthy
of particular attention. It was their " coat-of-arms." A
coat-of-arms formerly was a "habit worn by knights
over their armour. It was a short-sleeved coat or tunic,
reaching to the waist, and embroidered with their
armorial ensigns and various devices." The Garfield
coat-of-arms consisted of a shield, with a gold ground,
three horizontal crimson bars crossing it in one corner,
over it a helmet with raised visor, together with a heart,
and above the whole an arm wielding a sword, on which
was inscribed the motto. In cruce vinco — " THROUGH
Faith I Conquer."

What we wish to say about this coat-of-arms relates
to the motto. It tells of a courage that was born of
faith in God, such as was found in the Ohio cabin, and
without which the sorrows and hardships that invested
its early history would have proved too much for flesh
and blood. It is a grand spirit to brood over a human
habitation, beneath whose roof childhood buds and
blossoms into true life. It appropriates the Sabbath,
Bible, and every other hallowed power that is accessible,
to the " life that now is," because of another " life that
is to come." It was this spirit that James nursed from
his mother's breast, and inhaled from the domestic
atmosphere that wrapped his boyhood, to arouse heroic
qualities, and bend them to victorious work.

When James was about ten years old, his uncle, Amos
Boynton, organized a congregation in the school-house,
and took charge of it himself, when no minister was
on the ground. Mr. Boynton was a man of excellent

SUNDA Y IN THE WOODS, 67

abilities, and a very devoted Christian man. He was
more familiar with the Bible than any man in the town-
ship, and could repeat large portions of it. A copy of
the Scriptures was his constant companion. He carried
it with him into the field. If he stopped to rest himself,
or his cattle, the brief time was spent in reading the
Book of books. His familiarity with the Bible qualified
him to conduct Sabbath services in the log school-house ;
and they were of great moral and spiritual advantage to
the people. To James they were of as much real value
as to any one.

At that time religious controversy ran high in north-
ern Ohio. The Disciples were a new sect, and all other
sects denounced them ; while they, in turn, expressed
themselves freely concerning the errors and follies of
their opponents. James often heard discussions at home
upon these controverted religious questions, in which
his mother engaged with others. It was not unusual
for preachers to refer to them in their sermons ; and
always, when preachers stayed at his mother's house, as
they often did, these questions were discussed, and they
made a deep impression upon the active mind of James.
So bright a boy as he could scarcely fail to see that
vast importance attached to subjects in which the minis-
ters and his mother were so much interested. These
controversies lent more or less importance to Sunday in
the woods.

Among the topics discussed was Baptism, the Disciples
being immersionists. The extent to which James' mind
was impressed by these discussions is learned from the
following fact. Considerable political excitement pre-
vailed in that part of Ohio in the " Harrison Campaign.^'
The neighbours were all for Harrison, — Whigs, — and
James had heard his mother say that his father was a

68 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

Whig, and a great admirer of Henry Clay, and voted
for him when he was a candidate for President. One
day some neighbours were discussing politics in James'
presence, when one of them asked him, in a sportive way,
*' Jimmy, what are you, Democrat or Whig ? "

*' I'm Whig ; but I'm not baptized!' answered James.

The subject of Baptism was so thoroughly impressed
upon his mind, and the subject of Whigism, also, that
the little fellow supposed he could not be a properly
constructed Whig until he was baptized.

VII.

HIGHER UP.

"Hallo, Jim, now you'll have to be a farmer in earnest!
for I am going to Michigan," said Thomas, as he re-
turned from Cleveland. " Got a place out there."

" Where .? " inquired James, not understanding where
it was that his brother was going.

" To Michigan," repeated Thomas. " It is more of a
wilderness than Orange is."

" I know that," answered James. " What you goin*
to do out there .? "

" Clearin'," replied Thomas ; " twelve dollars a
month."

" You don't get so much as that, do you } " said
James, to whom that amount of monthly wages seemed
enormous.

" Yes, twelve dollars a month. It's hard work, early
and late. Mother shall have a frame-house now."

" Good ! " was James' answer of evident satisfaction.

At this time James was twelve years old, and Thomas

was twenty-one ; a period that had been much discussed

in the family, in anticipation of its arrival. There was

a definite understanding between Thomas and his mother

that the former should leave home at twenty-one, and

James should run the farm. It was important that

Thomas should be earning something abroad now that

he had attained to his majority, and James was old

60

70 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

enough to attend to affairs at home. Thomas went to
Cleveland for the purpose of obtaining work, without
any definite idea of what that work would be. Emi-
gration to Michigan was increasing, and there was
considerable excitement over the resources of that State,
so that labour was in considerable demand for that
section. The first opportunity that opened to Thomas
he accepted without hesitation, and it was, as already
announced, clearing land for a farmer in Michigan, at
twelve dollars a month.

Thomas passed into the house with James to make
known the result of his errand to Cleveland.

" I hope it will prove all for the best," remarked Mrs.
Garfield, after hearing the report "It's farther away
than I expected."

"Yes, it is some distance; but that is of little con-
sequence, after all. It's good pay."

" How far is it t " asked James, who was intensely
interested in the contemplated change.

" I don't know exactly," answered his mother ; " it's
farther than I wish it was."

" Will you live in a log-house, Tom } " James con-
tinued.

" Yes ; a cabin not half so large and good as this."

" How long shall you be gone t "

" Six months certain ; perhaps longer."

" And you will have to take Tom's place on the farm,"
said Mrs. Garfield, addressing James. "That will be
taking a step higher."

" I can do it," responded James, " though I am sorry
Tom is goin'."

" We shall miss him sadly," remarked Mrs. Garfield.
" It will be more lonesome than ever when he is gone ;
but we must make the best of it."

HIGHER UP. ' 71

" It will be best all round, I'm thinking," said Thomas,
" if it is the way for you to have a frame-house, mother.
I mean that shall come about."

" That will be nice, won't it, mother ? " exclaimed
James, who was thoroughly prepared to appreciate a
real house, after twelve years' occupancy of a cabin.

" Yes, it will be nice indeed, almost too nice to prove
a reality," replied his mother.

"It will prove a reality," remarked Thomas with de-
cision.

Thomas had spent much time, during the last five
years, in cutting and preparing timber for a new house,
hoping the time would come when his mother could
command money enough to employ a carpenter to erect
it. He had prepared sufficient timber for the house
when he became twenty-one years of age ; but there
was no money to pay a carpenter to put it up. Now
Thomas saw the way clear for erecting the house after
a while, and the prospect fired his ambition. He was
willing to go to Michigan for that object alone ; indeed,
he rejoiced to go, if by so doing a frame-house could be
secured.

Thomas was busy in preparing to leave, and James
was equally busy in attending to lessons that Thomas
gave him about the work to be done on the farm. The
ground was to be ploughed, the wheat sowed, the corn
and potatoes planted, with all the etceteras usually be-
longing to the season's labour. Thomas had his directions
to give concerning all these things, that his little brother
might the more successfully perform the farm-work.
However, his time at home was limited, as his engage-
ment required him to be in Michigan at an early date ;
and soon he was gone.

It was almost like making another grave in the corner

73 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

.of the wheat-field to part with Thomas. He had been
the main stay of the family since the death of his father,
and his mother had leaned upon him as mothers will
upon a noble son ; and now to miss his face and voice,
and miss his counsels and labours, created a void in the
home circle that brought tears to the eyes of all. It was
a trying hour for James, to whom Thomas was both
brotherly and fatherly. The most tender and loving
confidence existed between the two. Thomas was proud
of his gifted little brother, and James had perfect con-
fidence in his efficient big brother. It was not strange,
therefore, that James felt the absence of Thomas deeply,
and deplored the necessity that compelled him to leave
home. Nevertheless, he went to work upon the farm
with a will. He knew how to labour, because he had
laboured much with Thomas for four years, and was
often called the " boy- farmer ; " but now he was a farmer
in a more important sense, and must rely upon his own
judgment, plans, and efficiency to a great extent. He
was much higher up than before in the matter of care
and responsibility.

Here, as well as anywhere, we may describe the
scenery about the Garfield estate, for that may have had
an important influence upon the life and character of
James. He was the sort of boy who delights in beauty
and grandeur ; to whom a river, mountain, or wild forest
was more attractive than they often are to older heads.
A. person reared in the locality describes the scenery as
follows :

" Orange township is situated in the south-eastern por-
tion of Cuyahoga County, fifteen miles from Cleveland,
It is now, and always has been, strictly a farming town.
There is no village within its limits.

" Its surface is irregular and hilly, presenting some of

HIGHER UP. 73

the finest rural scenery to be found in this part of Ohio,
On the north-east flows the Chagrin River, from which
the land gradually rises towards the south-west for a
distance of three miles. Looking east from this range
of hills, a grand view is obtained. The valley of the
Chagrin, with its simple beauty, and the country for
twenty miles beyond, are distinctly visible. All combine
to form a picture that is strong, charming, and impressive.
It was to a spot south of this chain of hills that the
parents of General Garfield came in 1830."

We should have said that, at this time, the " Western
land speculation " was running high. People grew wild
over the prospect of coining money out of the wild lands
'of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. Men at the
East bought thousands of acres of land in the West,
that they never saw, and did not positively know that
such land existed. Hundreds and thousands of people
sold houses and land in New England and in the Middle
States, and removed thither, to make their fortunes.
Perhaps Thomas cherished a secret hope that somehow
he should become a rich man in the woods of Michigan.
It is certain that the opportunity to labour in that State
came to him through the " Western land mania." We
will leave him there, felling trees and clearing land for
the Michigan farmer, while we look after James at
home.

" Well, your farmer-boy is making things lively," re-
marked a neighbour, who called upon Mrs. Garfield.
" He is handy as any of us with his tools."

"And works as hard, I guess," responded Mrs. Gar-
field.

•* That is so ; all of us work hard enough," rejoined
the neighbour.

"Pioneer life is beset with hardships," continued Mrs,

74 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

Garfield ; "though its poverty is not so hard to be borne
as poverty in a large town or city."

" Do you really think so ? "

" Certainly I do."

" What makes you think so ? "

" Why, don't you see that there are no rich around us
to be compared with .<* We are not continually being
reminded of our extreme poverty by the presence of
those who can have all that money can buy."

"You think there is some satisfaction in all being
poor together } " interrupted the neighbour, jocosely.

" Yes ; that is about it. ' Misery loves company/ and
I suppose that is true of poverty."

"Well, we are all poor enough, if that is all," con-
tinued the neighbour ; " and on your theory we ought
to be tolerably happy."

"We are, I, think, as happy as the human race
averages, and perhaps a little more than that. God
averages human experience well, after all our fault-
finding."

" There must be some satisfaction in thinking so ; but
I can't exactly accept that view. Pioneers have more
than their full share of hardships and trials, in my
opinion," replied the neighbour, just as James came in
from the corn-field. Turning to him, by way of cordial
<;alutation, he added, —

"What do you think about it, James ?**
- "Think about what.?"

"Whether pioneers have more hardships than other
people .'' "

" I don't know much about it," answered James. " If
I knew what hardships other people have, I could tell
something about it ; but I don't."

James never spoke a truer word. He was born and

HIGHER UP, ■ 75

reared in the forest. He had never seen even a village,
much less a large town or city. He had seen but one or
two frame-houses at that time ; and these had just been
erected in the vicinity. How could he understand that
others enjoyed more than he did } He was a happy
boy. He had his home, though it was a cabin. He
had his mother, and brother, and sisters, and they were
just as dear to him as home and brothers and sisters are
to those who dwell in palaces. Perhaps they were more
so : we incline to the belief that they were. He had a
mother ; and if any mother was ever worth more to a
child than his was, he did not know it, nor could he be
made to believe any such thing. So he was a contented
boy. What other people, more highly blest, called
hardships, he accepted as a matter of course. He
scarcely knew that it was not as good as others enjoyed.
Why should he not be a rollicking, wide-awake, happy
boy } Hard work challenged his best endeavours now
that his brother was gone ;' but hard work is not neces-
sarily hardship. Some rich men work more hours in a
day to keep their money, than the poor man does to keep
soul and body together. And often it is more annoying
labour, straining the nerves, banishing sleep, fretting the
disposition, and keeping up a continual fever of anxiety.
James did not call hard work hardship ; he never
thought of such a thing. He was never happier than
he was during that season of severe toil after his brother
left home. He had greater responsibility, but respon-
sibility is not hardship. He felt more manly and
competent ; and he was both, now that the care of the
farm and his mother rested on his shoulders. A close
observer could see the honest pride of a noble heart
cropping out through his manly bearing. Call it hard-
ship to run the farm ! He never dreamed of it , it was

76 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

his delight. The language of singing expressed his
daily experience far better than complainings. Under
his homely jacket nestled a spirit that had not learned
discontent. No ! Neighbour Mapes put his question to
the wrong party, when he said, —

" What do you think about it, James } "

James was not the passenger. to awake. Break the
slumbers of somebody who is happy only when he is
asleep. James was happiest when he was awake, as
mortals everywhere should be. And he never was more
wide awake than he was on the farm during that season
of excessive labour.

"Goin' to exchange work with Mr. Lamper," said
James one day to his mother.

" How so } " inquired his mother.

"He wants an extra hand once in a while, and so do
I ; and then I want his oxen sometimes."

" You have seen him } "

" Yes ; and have made the bargain."

"A good arrangement, I guess," added his mother.
" Then, his head is older than yours, and he can show
you some things about farming that you don't know."

"And 'Two heads are better than one, if one is a
sheep's head,' I have heard you say a good many
times, " added James, in his lively way.

"If they are pioneer heads, it is so," rejoined his
mother, whose opinion of pioneer life was more favour-
able than that of neighbour Mapes. " Pioneer life re-
quires all the wisdom that can be got together to make
life in the woods successful."

This reference to " life in the woods " was partly in a
vein of pleasantry ; for now the designation was scarcely
appropriate. Nearly fourteen years had elapsed since
Mrs. Garfield moved into that township, and great

HIGHER UP, 77

changes had been wrought in that time. Many settlers
had moved into the township, and the unbroken forests
had yielded to the pioneer's axe, and well-conducted
farms dotted the landscape. Neighbours were near and
many now, as compared with the distance and number
of them ten years before. The pioneer stage had really
passed, and it was not "life in the woods" that James
was living. There was a saw-mill and an ashery in the
vicinity ; also a carpenter was added to the population
of the town. All this brought a change that James,
young as he was, could but notice.

The plan of exchanging work was one that James
originated, and it proved of great value to him during
the season. It lightened his labour when " Two heads
were better than one," and gave him the use of the oxen
when no other aid could be half so valuable. Then Mr.
Lamper was glad to exchange labour with a boy who
was equal to a man in his efficiency. James could turn
his hand to any sort of work upon the farm, and had
physical strength to endure almost any strain. His
honest pride of character assisted him, too, more than
ever in his work, as any sharp observer could see.

We cannot dwell upon the labours of that eventful
season, except to add, that the farm did for James what
a teacher did for some other boys. The celebrated
engineer, and inventor of the locomotive engine, George
Stephenson, said that he studied mechanics with his
engine instead of a professor. Indeed, the engine was
his professor, and taught him daily the most important
lessons. He was eighteen years of age, and was running
the engine in a colliery. On Saturday afternoons, when
the workmen were released from labour, and were spend-
ing their time in rum-shops, or attending dog-fights,
George took his engine to pieces, and cleaned and studied

78 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

it. He could neither read nor write, but he could under-
stand and appropriate the silent lessons of his engine ;
and these made him the renowned inventor of the loco-
motive. Well might he call the engine his teacher.

James might have called the farm his teacher. It
taught him many excellent lessons. He extracted the
most valuable knowledge from its soil. He evoked
inspiring thoughts from its labour. His manhood
developed under its rigid discipline. His mind enlarged
its mental grasp. The season spent in the log school-
house could not have pushed him higher up than did his
experience on the farm. It was positive proof that
work is discipline as much as study, and that it can do
for boys, often, more than study to qualify them for the
stern duties of life. James was more of a man at the
close of that season than he was at the beginning of it.

He had little time to read during those months ; and
yet he never valued reading more. He was never more
hungry for knowledge than he was during that period
of constant labour. He thought much of going to
school ; and often the thought would force itself upon
his mind, how can I get an education } Not that he
formed any definite plan concerning it, or even con-
sidered that such a thing was possible ; but the vague
thought would sometimes arise. And then his mother
frequently dropped remarks which showed the strong
desire of her heart, that James might, at some future
time, she knew not how or when, become a scholar.
That such a boy should spend his life in tilling the earth
appeared to her like wasting pearls.

" James, I hope that you will not always have to work
on a farm." How often she remarked thus.

"What would you do if I shouldn't?" was James'
thoughtful reply. " I should like to, if it is best."

HIGHER UP. 79

"I hardly know. * It is not in man that walketh to
direct his steps,' and I am glad of it. There is my
hope, that some day you can get an education. I know
it will be best, if you can do it. You can never know
too much."

" I guess that is so," replied James, half humorously.
**I couldn't ever know too much to work on a farm.
There is more to learn about it than I could learn in
many years."

" That is true, no doubt ; but I have a strong desire
that you should become a scholar ; and sometimes the
desire is so strong that I feel as if I could not be
denied."

" I don't feel so."

"Wouldn^t you like to study, and become a scholar.?"
• " Why, yes, I should like nothing better ; but how
can I do it ? "

" I don't know, and that is what troubles me, though
I ought not to be troubled. I know that God will open
the way, if it is best, and I ought to leave it there ; but
somehow I can't help having anxiety about it."

"Well, it can't be at" present," added James, as if per-
fectly satisfied with his situation.

Thus James was led on, and his mother, too, not
knowing whither Providence was guiding them. James
was going up higher all the while, although it scarcely
seemed so to his doting mother. The Lord was laying
a deeper foundation than could have been laid if she
had had her own way. " Man deviseth his own way,
but the Lord directeth his steps."

VIII.

BOY CARPENTER.

" Tom is coming ! " was the shout Mrs. Garfield heard
as she caught sight of James bounding across the
garden. " Tom is coming ! " louder yet. One would
have thought the boy had suddenly lost his reason,
judging by his antics.

Sure enough ! Looking from the cabin door she saw
Thomas approaching, and James had already reached
him, in his pleasurable excitement. If James was glad
to get hold of Thomas' hand, Thomas was equally re-
joiced to get hold of James. The greeting was mutual
and hearty. The big brother and little brother made
for the house, hand in hand, their tongues running glibly
all the while.

" Are we goin' to have a frame-house now ? " asked
James, almost the first thing.

*' Yes, we'll have a frame-house now, and let the hens
keep house in the cabin," replied Thomas.

"It's just about good enough for them," remarked
James in response. " It will make a good hen-house."

" Rather better accommodations than they have had,*'
Thomas added ; " and will compare well with our
quarters when the house is done."

By this time mother and son stood face to face, James
shouting :

" Goin' to have the frame-house now, mother ! *'

BOY CARPENTER. 8i

Mrs. Garfield found that she was a good deal like
James, and when she saw that her Thomas was cer-
tainly coming, she forgot everything else, and hastened
to meet him — not as wildly as James, but very much
as all fond mothers will do when they have not seen
their good sons for seven months. She went across the
house-lot at double-quick, and soon had hold of the big
boy as firmly as he had hold of her. It was a glad
meeting. Mothers and sons who dwell in palaces
scarcely know what a luxury it was. Why, it more
than paid for the long separation. The meeting paid
principal and interest in full. The family were united
again — girls, boys, and mother — one girl rather big
now, twenty-three years old ; and Thomas almost
twenty-two, just the age of his father when the latter
was married. Happy family !

They were hardly seated in the cabin, when Thomas
flung a handful of gold into his mother's lap, saying :

" Now you can have a frame-house ; " and the noble
young man seemed to be perfectly satisfied, now that
he was able to give his mother a better home. " We'll
go about it at once."

" My ! what a lot 1 " was James' exclamation when be
saw the shining gold ; and he proceeded to examine the
treasure in his mother's lap.

" How much is there, Tom ? " he asked.

" Seventy-five dollars, just."

" And you earned it all ? "

" Every cent of it."

James read aloud the inscriptions on the new, bright
coin, while he handled it in amazement that his own
brother could make such a "pile." Things had not
been conducted on a gold basis in that cabin, so that it
was a new spectacle that suddenly broke upon James'

G

82 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

delighted vision. He had not seen gold coin before, nor
had he dreamed that such an article could come out of
the Michigan woods. It is not strange, therefore, that
the backwoods boy was considerably elated over the
sight. What a mint is to him now, that was seventy-
five dollars in gold to him then.

" Why don't you say something, mother } " exclaimed
James, no doubt expecting that his mother would be as
gushing as himself over the gold. The fact was, she
could not have said anything if she had tried. What
mother could, in the circumstances } That great boy,
as old as his father was when she becan^e his bride,
coming home with such proof of his filial love! Think-
ing of his mother more than he did of himself ! Happy
only in helping her ! Who wonders that she sat mute
as a marble statue ? There was no language for such
an occasion. All the Noah Websters in the world could
not provide words for such a moment. A mother's
heart, at such a time, defies expression. At least it was
so with mother Garfield's heart. It could have taken
that strapping son to itself, and folded him like a baby
again, and covered him over with kisses, which would
have been only a figure of speech, but language was out
of the question. James saw the point as soon as her
tears dropped upon the gold coin. He could not exactly
understand it, though, for ^ felt like hurrahing instead
of crying, and he knew that his mother was glad that
she could have a frame-house, for he had often heard
her express a wish of that kind. So he could not quite
understand it: Readers! it was because he was like all
the rest of the boys and girls — they do not understand
the mystery of a mother's love.

The excitement of the hour passed, however, and the
equilibrium of feeling and daily duties was restored.

BOY CARPENTER. 83

* I'm off again, mother, as soon as I get you into the
new house," said Thomas. " There's plenty of work in
Michigan, and I must be doing it."

" Well, you must manage it to suit yourself. I sup-
pose that Mr. Treat can be had any time to put the
house up." Mr. Treat was the carpenter.

" I will find out. I can work with him, and we'll
make a quick job of it.""

" I'll work, too," said ' James. " I can carry boards,
drive nails, and do other things."

"You can draw the. sand, too, Jimmy," replied
Thomas.

"Sand! What do you do with sand.?" exclaimed
James, forgetting that mortar was necessary. It was
excusable, however, since he was familiar only with
mud, that made the log-house tight.

" To make mortar with, of course ; we must have
mortar for plastering," Thomas answered. " I can get
lime, brick, nails, and windows at Cleveland."

"And you'll take me along with you, I s'pose," sug-
gested James.

" Yes ; I can chuck you in most anywhere. Perhaps
I shall need your help."

James had not been to Cleveland at that time. It
was but a small place, of about a thousand inhabitants,
though growing rapidly.

" How long will you be gone to Cleveland ? " inquired
James.

" One day only ; can't spare any more time. A long
day, perhaps."

" When shall you go > "

" Just as soon as I have engaged Mr. Treat."

Mr. Treat was seen and engaged at once, and Thomas
and James made the trip to Cleveland for windows

84 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

nails, etc. Bricks were obtained subsequently, without
going to Cleveland.

A few days only elapsed before the carpenter and
Thomas were at work on the new house. James, too,
was not a mere spectator. He was far more interested
in the erection of the house than he would have been
in a circus. It was an era in his life. All the spare
moments he could snatch from the farm-work and care
of the stock he devoted to the new house. He had
drawn the sand before the carpenter began to frame the
building.

" Here, Jimmy, I see you want to help," said Mr.
Treat. " Just take this chisel and mallet, and put this
mortise through as you have seen me do the others. I
guess you can do it."

" Yes, I can do that," James answered, elated with the
idea of being able to render assistance ; and with mallet
and chisel the mortise was hurried through.

" Give us another," exclaimed James, proud of his
achievement.

" What ! " responded Mr. Treat, " got that done so
quick ? "

" Yes, all done ; look at it," answered James.

" And well done, too," said Mr. Treat, examining the
mortise. " Pretty good for a boy."

" Can I do another } " continued James.

" Yes, a dozen if you want to ; " and the carpenter
started him on another mortise, and after that another,
and another, until he completed the sixth.

" You must try your hand at planing now," said Mr.
Treat. " A small boy to shove a plane, but I guess you
can do it. Here (arranging a board on his bench), try
this, and see how you make it."

At that time planing machines were unknown, at

BOY CARPENTER. S5

least in that part of the country ; all the planing was
done by hand. In the newly-settled townships, like
Orange, also, less planing was done ; more rough boards
were used. The frame-houses were of rude construction,
having no particular style or comeliness — ^just a comfor-
table place to live in, more comfortable and pleasant
than log-cabins. Many of them could boast only of
a single room below— parlour, sitting-room, kitchen, and
wash-room, all in one — the second storey remaining un-
finished, and used for lodging, being divided into apart-
ments by curtains. It was very little labour and small
expense to erect such a dwelling. Others were some-
what more elaborate, having two, and even three rooms
below, with sleeping-rooms finished above. The Gar-
field house contained three rooms below, and two above,
unfinished. Hence, seventy-five dollars was ample to
buy nails, bricks, lime, and other necessary articles, and
to pay the carpenter in addition.

James went on with the planing very readily, for he
had watched both Mr. Treat and Thomas in this part of
the work until he comprehended the "knack," as the
carpenter called it. As we have already said, his sharp
observation was equal to a teacher, and it made him
master of many things that he never could have known
without this faculty. Captain Samuel Brown, a bridge-
builder, lived on the banks of the Tweed, across which
he desired to build a bridge. While he was studying
the subject, he chanced to walk in his garden early one
fine morning, when his attention was arrested by a spi-
der's-web across his path. A careful examination of the
web suggested to him the idea of a suspension-bridge,
constructed by the use of iron ropes or chains, as the
spider had built his light bridge. No indifferent gazer
would take the hint of a suspension-bridge from the web

86 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

of a spider, but sharp, discriminating observation took
the hint.

James' keen observation enabled him to build many
suspension-bridges over impassable places in his boy-
hood and youth, and, in comparison with some of them,
his success with carpenter's tools is scarcely worth men-
tioning.

" I like this," said James, as he turned over the well-
planed board to the carpenter, " it's fun ! "

" You will not find much fun in it when you have
kept at it all day," replied the carpenter. " It takes
elbow-grease to do this work well."

" Elbow-grease ! " repeated James ; " what's elbow-
grease?"

" It is sweaty that is pouring out of you now, Jimmy,"
the carpenter replied. " Can't do much at planing with-
out putting sweat into it."

" Sweat alone won't run a plane," rejoined James, in-
timating to the carpenter that brains were needed as
much as work.

" That is so," replied Mr. Treat ; " but you understand
what I mean. The most skilful workman will find hard
labour in this business ; and to do it well, he must be
willing to sweat."

" If sweat is proof of doing it well, then the board
is well planed, Mr. Treat, for I sweat enough," James
added.

" You have done it well ; I couldn't have done it
better myself," replied Mr. Treat. " You was born to
be a carpenter, I guess."

" I'd like to be one," interrupted James, " if I could be
a good one."

" Well, you would make a good one, my boy, judging
from the work you have done. Perhaps you will be

BOY CARPENTER, 87

a boss-carpenter before you are twenty- one. Who
knows ? "

" I couldn't be that without a chance," remarked
James, intimating that a chance was scarcely possible
for a boy in his circumstances.

"Of course not; but where there's a will there's a
way."

"That's what mother says."

" And that is what overcomes difficulties," continued
Mr. Treat. " But there are more boards (pointing to a
pile on the ground) if you want to do more of this sort
of work."

Another board was laid on the bench, and James
continued to drive the plane for an hour and more.
He was general errand-boy when he was about the
building, so that he could not use plane or chisel long,
without interruption. It was, "Go here," and "go
there ; " " Get this," and " get that ; " to all of which
demands he cheerfully responded.

The raising of the house was a grand affair to James.
It was the first house-raising he ever attended, and it
was a great novelty. He was sent to notify the neigh-
bours of the event on a given day, and to solicit their
assistance. The neighbours were thoroughly glad that
Mrs. Garfield was going to have a new house, and many
were their praises of the son who thus provided for his
worthy mother. They were promptly on hand at the
time, and the frame went up without mistake or acci-
dent. And now came another treat for James. He had
had his eye upon a keg of nails for some days, anticipa-
ting the highest kind of pleasure from driving them.
It was sport for him to drive nails, as it is for boys
generally, and he expected to have his fill of the fun.

"Now, Jimmy, you can try your hand at driving

88 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHTTE HOUSE.

nails," said Mr. Treat, addressing the boy-carpenter.
" That is pretty work, and won't require quite so much
elbow-grease."

" I have a particular liking for driving nails," replied
James ; ** where shall I begin } "

** Right here, where I have put in these two. Lay
them just as I have laid these, and it will be right.
See if you can ' hit the nail on the head ; ' some boys
never can do it, and so they grow up to be men, and
live and die, without ever * hitting the nail on the head.' "
Mr. Treat cast a knowing look at James as he said it,
and a smile played over his face, as if curious to see how
his figurative expression was taken.

" I can hit that sort of a nail on the head, if I can't
any other," answered James, with a smile, understand-
ing the drift of his figure of speech. And hastily he let
drive his hammer at a nail, and missed it the first time,
much to his chagrin.

" Missed the first blow ! " exclaimed the carpenter,
with a shout of laughter. " You didn't do that as well
as you did the planing and mortising. How is that t "

** Only a blunder," James replied, with evident morti-
fication.

" Well, see if you can strike again without blunder-
ing," responded Mr. Treat, laughing. " There's a

* knack' in driving nails as well as in planing boards.
Just get the ' knack ' of the thing, and it will go."

" Here goes the * knack,' then," exclaimed James, as
his hammer struck the nail squarely on the head. ** The

* knack ' it is, every time ! Nails are made to drive, and
I will drive them." And his hammer flew with unerring
aim, as nail after nail was driven in, with a will that
signified determination and force of character. Missing
the first blow just set him on his taps, resolved that a

BOy CARPENTER, 89

steady aim and square hit should attend every blow that
followed. He learned the lesson of carefulness and
brave endeavour from his failure, so that he became
more expert in the use of the hammer than he would
have been otherwise. Such is the case with all boys
who win ; a failure arouses their latent skill and energy,
and they bid defiance to failures thereafter. In his
youth, Curran, who became the famous Irish orator,
broke down on his first attempt to speak in a debating
society. He was a stammerer, and when he rose in his
place his stuttering speech was worse than ever. He
floundered at first, stammered out something nobody
could understand, and then stood speechless. His
companions roared with laughter. One said, in a low
voice, " Orator Mum ! " Another peal of laughter
followed this new title ; and it aroused the invincible
spirit of the boy.

"You may laugh now," he shouted, finally, "but I
will conquer this stammering tongue, and some day you
will listen and commend." All of which came to pass
exactly as prophesied. The gist of the matter was in
him, and the mortifying failure served to bring it out.

" Nothing like being plucky," remarked Mr. Treat,
when he witnessed James' success in driving nails.
" Pluck wins when luck loses."

"Mother says there is no such thing as luckl' re-
sponded James.

" Your mother is about right, according to my notion,"
answered Mr. Treat. " Boys that depend on luck for a
livelihood go pretty hungry sometimes. I'd rather a
boy of mine would have a single ounce of pluck than a
whole pound of luck. Luck is like an old United States
bank bill, of very uncertain value ; but pluck is good as
gold all the time."

so FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

"Well," said James, jocosely, "you must admit thai
my first blow was a very titiliicky one."

** Unlucky ! the deuce it was ! " exclaimed Mr. Treat.
" It was just what you said it was, * a blunder,' and a
blunder is neither lucky nor unlucky. But you have
made amends, so go ahead with your nailing."

And James did go ahead, spending every moment
possible in labour upon the new house, and acquiring
facility in the use of tools that served him a good turn
many years thereafter. To the last day's labour upon
the house James rendered all the assistance he could,
happy only in the thought that he could make himself
useful. Nor was this the best part of the discipline.
James received a kind of education when the house was
building that has proved of great advantage to him
through life. Before the house was completed, he
conceived the idea of making the carpenter's trade a
source of profit. It was on his mind day after day, the
last thing he thought of before falling asleep at night,
and the first thing when he awoke in the morning. He
divulged his purpose to no one, but pondered it for
several months in his own heart. The family had
removed into the new house, and Thomas had returned
to Michigan, and James was manager of the farm-
work.

" Mother," he said one day, when he could not keep
his purpose a secret any longer, " I have a plan to earn
some money."

" What is it ? "

" To work at the carpenter's trade."

" I'm afraid that plan won't work.'*

« Why ? "

" You have enough to do on the farm now, and you
can't do both."

BOY CARPENTER. 91

" I only meant to work at it when I had no work on
the farm to do, — a job now and then."

" It will be difficult to find such jobs."

" Perhaps it will, but I can try^ and you believe in
trying." James emphasized the words try and trying,
because his mother often made the remark to her
children, "There is nothing like trying."

" Yes, I believe in trying always, and you may try as
hard as you please to find a job."

" I'm going to Mr. Treat ; perhaps he may have a job
at planing or something of the kind. I want to earn
some money for you as well as Thomas. I will go to
Michigan when I am old as he is."

" One son in Michigan is enough, I think. Besides, I
hope the day will come when you can be more useful
than you can be in chopping wood or planing boards."

" I don't know what there is better than such work,
to help you."

" There is somebody else in the world to help besides
me," replied his mother, earnestly ; " and I don't want
you to feel that you are always to be bound to this
little township and farm."

" I don't expect to be bound to it always," retorted
James ; " but I am bound to get a job at carpenterin*
this very day, if I can ; and I am going over to see Mr.
Treat."

Within less than an hour James entered the carpenter-
shop.

" Halloo, Jimmy ! that you ? How's your mother ? "
exclaimed Mr. Treat, in a very jolly way, as he was
wont to do.

" She is well."

" Not much farming to do just now, I suppose } "
continued Mr. Treat, inquiringly.

92 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

" No, not very much ; and I came over to see you
about some work."

"Ah, that's what brought you here! I see now;
what sort of work do you want to do ? "

" Your kind of work, of course, carpenterin'."

" All right, Jimmy ! Glad to see there are no lazy
bones in you. I hate lazy boys above all things, and I
know that you don't belong to that class."

" I hope not," answered James ; " I thought I might
as well be earning a little something for mother, now
Tom's gone, and so I came to see if you could give me
a job."

" That's noble, to help your mother. Boys who stick
to their mothers don't often make a failure, especially
boys with such a mother as you have. You can't think
too much of your mother. Them's the boys I like to
give a job to."

" Can you give me a job "> " James interrupted,
evidently thinking that Mr. Treat was making a pretty
long story over the affair.

" Yes, my boy, I can, and I am right glad to do it,
too. There is a pile of boards that I want planed, and
I know that you can plane them well. I haven't forgot
how you worked on the house.''

" How much will you pay me .? "

" One cent a board ; and that will be pretty good pay."

" When do you want them done } "

"Just as soon as you can ; the quicker the better."

" I will come to-morrow and begin."

"All right, sonny; begin to-morrow, and end when
you please."

" You wouldn't like to have me keep the job on hand
a month, would you } " replied James, pleasantly, think-
ing about the words, "end as you please."

BOY CARPENTER, 93

"You won't do that, Jimmy. I know that you will
put it through just, as soon as possible, and that will
suit. When I said * end it as you please,' I knew that
you would please to end it as soon as you could. Your
money is ready as soon as the job is done."

" I'll be on hand to-morrow, just as soon as I've done
my chores," remarked James, and left.

It was a proud moment for James, and exultation
beamed in his eye when he reached home, and reported
his good fortune to his mother.

"It will be the first money I ever earned," said James.

"And you are pretty young to" earn it," replied his
mother. " I'm glad you have the job. I hardly
thought you would find one."

" Trying brought it," responded James, with a very
suggestive expression on his face.

" I guess Mr. Treat made the job on purpose for you ;
he is a great friend of yours," added Mrs. Garfield. " I
know he would be glad to help you to all the jobs
possible. When are you goin' to begin it } "

" To-morrow, early as I can."
p "Well, be careful and not overwork. Two hours a
day is as much as you ought to work at planing ; three
hours at most."

" I shall work six hours to-morrow, certainly," replied
James. " I should laugh to see myself work two hours,
and then cry ' baby,' and come home ; and I guess Mr.
Treat would laugh, too."

" I think Mr. Treat will agree with me exactly, that
boys must not overwork ; and you are so ambitious,
James, that you will overwork before you know it, unless
somebody warns you." Mrs. Garfield expressed just
the opinion that every thoughtful parent would express.
James had more energy and ambition than he had dis-

94 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

cretion, so that he was blind to the value of his mother's
counsel.

*' If you see me coming home to-morrow in two hours,
or three, you may know that I've lost an arm or finished
the job," remarked James, very suggestively. And here
the conversation closed.

James went to his job the next day with more deter-
mination than ever, much as he had shown of this
admirable quality before. If his mother looked into his
eye, or observed his compressed lips, as he went out of
the door, she must have been satisfied that three hours'
planing would not satisfy his ambitious desires on that
day. Mr. Treat gave him copdial words of welcome, in
his jovial way, assuring him that the " Early bird catches
the worm," at the same time handing him a jack-plane.
James stripped off his jacket and vest, leaving only his
shirt and jean trousers to encumber him. He was bare-
footed, of course, as the luxury of shoes could not be
afforded, except in the winter. He was scarcely tall
enough to work handily at the bench, but he seemed to
straighten himself up one or two inches taller than usual
for the occasion. He went to work like a man. Every
board was twelve feet long ; and by the time he had
planed ten of them his mind was fully made up to what
nobody knew except himself They found out, however,
at night. All through the day the plane was shoved
rapidly, and great beads of sweat stood upon the boy's
brow, but no tired look invested his countenance for
a moment. Before the sun went down he exclaimed,
laying aside the plane,- —

" One hundred boards, Mr. Treat, done ! count them,
and see."

"Not a hundred, my. boy ; you don't mean that, do
you ? "

BOY CARPENTER. 95

" Count them, and see ; a hundred boards according
to my count."

"A great day's work, if that is the case," said Mr.
Treat, as he proceeded to count the boards. *'One
hundred it is, surely," remarked Mr. Treat, completing
the count. " Too much for a boy of your age and size
to do in one day. I wouldn't advise you to do more
than half that another day."

" I'm not much tired," said James.

*' That is not the thing, my boy ; thirty years from
now you may feel tired from this day's labour more than
you do now."

" If it takes as long as that to get tired, then the tired
part is far off," responded James, not appreciating the
wise remark of his employer.

" Well, now comes the best part of your day's work,
the pay," remarked Mr. Treat. " Let us see, one hun-
dred boards takes one hundred cents to pay for them,
that is just one dollar! A great day's work for a boy
carpenter! Now, you count, and I'll count." And he
proceeded to count out one hundred cents, making quite
a little pile of coin when the dollar, all in cents, was
ready for James' pocket.

Reader. We might as well stop here as to proceed
further with the history of that day's labour. It would
be quite impossible to describe James' feelings to you
as he pocketed the one hundred cents and started for
home. That old jacket never covered such a breast as it
did then. If we could only turn that bosom inside out,
and have a full view of the boy's heart, we should learn
what no writer can ever describe. It was a man's heart
in a boy's breast. There was not room for it under
the jacket. It swelled with inexpressible emotions, as
ground-swells sometimes lift the ocean higher than

I ^^

96 FROM LOG-CABIN- TO WHITE HOUSE,

usual. " One hundred cents^ all in one day ! " The more
he thought of it on his way home the prouder grew the
occasion. " Seventy-five days like that would yield him
as much as Thomas brought from Michigan ! " The
thought was too great for belief. That would not be
half so long as Thomas was gone, and away from home,
too. And so he thought and pondered, and pondered
and thought, on his way home, his boyhood putting on
manhood in more than one respect. He was " Great
Heart," bare-footed and in jean trousers.

Whether James intended to ape Thomas or not, we
cannot say ; but, on reaching home, he unloaded the
coppers into his mother's lap, saying, —

" Yours, mother."

"All that, James.?"

" One hundred cents," was James' reply.

"What ! earned a dollar to-day } "

" Yes ; I planed a hundred boards."

By this time Mrs. Garfield became as dumb as she was
over the seventy-five dollars that Thomas brought to her.
There was some trouble in her throat, and the power of
speech left her. She could not tell what she thought,
or how she felt. If her eldest son had made her cry
with kindness, the youngest one was doing the best he
could to imitate his example. The little son could be
handled as the big one could not be, and so the dear,
good mother folded him to her breast, as the only way
to tell her love when the tongue was voiceless.

IX.

BARN-BUILDING.

James job at Treat's carpenter-shop introduced him
into further business in .that line. The winter school,
however, intervened, and James attended it without the
loss of a single day. The day after the school closed,
Mr. Treat called.

" I'm after James," said he to Mrs. Garfield. " I have
a barn to build for Mr. Boynton, and can give him a job
before his farm-work begins."

"That will suit him," replied Mrs. Garfield. " I think
he likes that kind of work better than farming,'*

Just then James made his appearance.

"Young man, I'm after you," said Mr. Treat to him.

" For what } " asked James.

" Another job of work."

" Planing boards .? "

" No. Better than that."

" What .? " . •

" Building a barn for Mr. Boynton."

"I'd like that," said James. "I want to learn to
build a barn myself."

"You can, easily. That's not much of a job."

" When do you want me } "

" Right off— to-morrow, if you can "

" To-morrow it is^ then."

97 H

I ^

98 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

" With other work I have in the shop I can keep you
at it until farming begins."

" That will just suit me. Shall I work by the day ? "

" Yes, by the day, if you will. I'll give you not less
than forty cents a day, nor more than fifty, according as
you get along with it."

" I'll be satisfied with that, and will be on hand
to-morrow morning," James answered, as Mr. Treat was
leaving.

" * Nothing like trying,* mother," said James, after the
carpenter was gone, repeating her old familiar saw. " I
shouldn't have got this job if I hadn't tried for one last
fall."

"Very likely not," replied his mother; "and you
would not have had this if you had not done the first
one so well. Nothing like doing things well, always
remember that."

" It's almost equal to trying^ isn't it } " added James,
roguishly.

" Perhaps it is more than equal to it. They who do
their work well, are the ones who get work. People
don't want botchers about."

" What are botchers ? Blunderers } "

"Those who don't do their work well — they are
botchers. Your father used to say, * What's worth
doing at all, is worth doing well,' and he was about
right. Another thing he used to say was, ' If you know
a thing, know it certainly.' "

" I don't see how a person can really know anything
without knowing it certainly," remarked James. "If
I know anything, I know it."

" Sometimes you know a lesson better than you do
at other times, do you not ? " answered his mother.

" That rnav be ; but if I don't know a lesson cer-

r

BARN-BUILDING. 99

tainly, I don't know much about it," replied James. ** I
should be ashamed not to know a lesson certainly."

"I hope you always will be," remarked his mother;
" and, what is more, I hope you will always be ashamed
not to do your work thoroughly."

" I mean to learn how to frame a barn," said James.

" I should think you might learn that easy enough,"
responded Mrs. Garfield. " It's true I don't know much
about it, but it doesn't appear to me to be very difficult
to learn to frame a barn."

" I know that I can learn how," added James.

" Mr. Treat will give you a good chance to learn how,
I think, if you tell him what you want."

" I shall do that." And James did do it. As soon
as he commenced work the next day, he made known
his wishes.

" Mr. Treat, I want to learn how to frame a barn,"
he said. " Can't I learn .? "

" Most too much of a youngster for that business,"
answered Mr. Treat ; " but you can have the chance.
Just keep your eyes open to see how the work is laid
out, and it is easy enough,"

" Well, I can do that ; my eyes are usually open in
the daytime," said James, naively.

"And you must see with your brain as well as with
your eyes, if you would learn," added Mr. Treat. " You
see how that is, don't you ? "

" I see."

"You must have a little idea of the plan to begii>
with, though ;" and Mr. Treat proceeded to exhibit bis
plan to the boy, explaining it to him as well as he
could. James took in the principal idea in the outset,
and proceeded to assist in framing the building with
increased intelligence. An examination of the plan

lOO FROM LOG CAB IN TO WHITE HOUSE.

snowed him that it was more necessary for his " brains
to see " the why and wherefore than he had supposed.
But Mr. Treat was deeply interested in teaching the
boy, and so kept him at work directly under his eye.
He directed his attention both to the plan and the
frame, that he might learn the real use of the former to
the carpenter.

" Can't do anything without a plan," remarked Mr.
Treat one day to James.

" How is it about milking ?" asked James, facetiously.

*' It is true in milking, my boy. By plmi I mean
system, and you can't milk without system. About such
a time, morning and night, you milk the cows, and that
systematic way enables you to accomplish other work
more successfully. Then, too, the cows give more milk
by milking them systematically."

" I didn't know that," said James, surprised that cows
would give more milk by systematic milking.

" It is true, whether you knew it or not," remarked
Mr. Treat. " Even the Lord would make a failure in
running this world without system. The fact is, Jimmy,
you have to run your farm on God's plan, or it won't
run at ail. If you should plant two kernels of corn
where God means that only one shall grow, you would
have your labour for your pains. You can raise no corn
in that way. You could raise a plenty of stalks, but
mighty little corn. Hens would starve to death in such
a corn-field. If you should sow two bushels of wheat
where there should be only one bushel on the Lord's
plan, your biscuit would be pretty small next winter."

James laughed at this eccentric way of putting
things, and, at the same time, he received some very
valuable ideas from the sensible carpenter, who con*
tinned, very much in the same vein :

BARN-BUILDING. io«

" * A place for everything, and everything in its place/
is an old adage, and just as true as Genesis. The men
who obey this rule are the men who succeed ; and the
men who never mind it are the ones who go to smash.
I've seen that over and over. There's no use a-trying
to run things on the line of disorder and confusion ;
they'll get upset, sure. No man can amount to much in
this world except on system. Remember that, Jimmy^
and you will come out all right."

" You mean a time to study, and a time to work, and
a time to play t " inquired James.

*' That's it ; only I should cut the time to play pretty
short," replied Mr. Treat. " Not much time to play in
Ohio, when we have all that we can do to make the
ends meet. * All work and no play makes Jack a dull
boy,' they say, and I guess 'tis true. But, look here,
have we got this right .<* " (springing up to examine his
work). " I have been so busy talking that L didn't stop
to think what I was about. All talking and careless
work. will make a botch of it."

The work was found all right and in a good state of
progress. And now in silence the labour went on for
an hour or two, James minding his P's and Q's, and the
carpenter keeping an eye on his plan and his work.

We must state the upshot of this barn-building in a
word, as space is dwindling away. The barn was com-
pleted according to the contract, and without a break
from the start. Perhaps James could not have framed
a barn without assistance when the building was com-
pleted, but he learned a great deal about the carpenter's
trade while he worked upon it. Evening after evening
he studied over it alone. He drew a plan of his own,
and studied it hour after hour, in order to learn how to
frame a barn. With the same persistent efforts that he

I02 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

mastered a problem in arithmetic, he studied his plan
of framing a building ; and although he did not become
master of the art, he, nevertheless, approximated to it.
When the barn was completed, Mr. Treat paid James
fifty cents a day, amounting to nearly twenty dollars,
saying,—

" You've earned it, every cent of it, James."

During the previous winter James made great pro-
gress in his studies, by improving the long evenings.
He had learned about all he could learn in the district
school, although he continued to go in the winter time.
In some things he was more advanced than his teacher,
and often put questions which the teacher could not
answer. He mastered Adams' Arithmetic during the
winter. Lying flat on the floor, that the light of the
fire might shine on his book, he studied arithmetic every
evening for weeks, until he had learned all there was to
learn in it, and he was really more competent to teach
that science than the man who presided over the district
school. The scholars said that James actually per-
formed a problem one day that had proved too much
for their teacher, much to the mortification of the latter.

" I think the answer in the book must be wrong,"
remarked the teacher, after an ineffectual attempt to
solve the problem for a class. ** You may try it, Henry^
and when you are through, bring me the slate."

Henry Boynton was good in arithmetic, but he could
not bring an answer like that in the book, though it
differed from the teacher's answer.

" I can't do it," said Henry. " My answer is not like
that in the book."

" Bring your slate to me," said the teacher.

Henry carried his slate to the teacher, who examined
his work without pointing out an error, but adding, —

BARN-BUILDING. 103

" The answer in the book must be wrong."

Here James interrupted by saying, —

" I did it once."

•'And did you get the same answer as the book ?"

" Yes, sir, I think so."

" Let me see you do it, and then bring your slate to
me."

James went to work in his earnest way, and solved
the problem very readily.

" IVe done it," said James, carrying his slate to the
teacher.

The latter closely examined his solution of the pro-
blem, and found it to be correct, agreeing exactly with
the text-book.

" It is true, James, you have performed it," said the
teacher, with evident mortification, which the larger
scholars enjoyed. It was fun for them to have James
beat the master. They had an exalted opinion of
James' abilities, and now he became their oracle. A
boy who was a match for the master was a prodigy in
their view. They looked up to him with a kind of
reverence, though he was their companion.

We must not forget to mention one book that he read
during that winter, " Robinson Crusoe." We know not
how it came into his hands, but he obtained it in some
way, and read it twice through. Flat on his face before
the blazing fire, he read the volume hour after hour, and
wondered over it. He was very fond of reading about
adventures ; but this book surpassed anything of the
kind he had ever read.

" I wish this book belonged to me," he said to his
mother one day.

** If you read it much more its contents will belong to
you," his mother replied.

I04 FROM LOG-CABIN- TO WHITE HOUSE,

" I wish I owned it, then," added James.

" I wish you did, too," responded his mother. ** What
is there about it that interests you so much, my son ? "

" It's splendid," was James' answer. *' I never read
such an interesting book. I could read it ten times
over, and not get tired of it. I wonder if there are any
more books like it."

" I suppose there are, if we knew where to find them,"
Mrs. Garfield answered.

"I'd be wiUing to hunt one while for them,** said
James.

The impression made by that book upon his mind
was never effaced. It not only sharpened his appetite
yet more for reading, if that were possible, but it set
him to inquiring more than ever concerning books which
he had never seen.

Some time after this, his cousin, William Boynton,
came into possession of a copy of Josephus, and he
shared the pleasure of reading it with James. They
read it, by the hour together, and they read it separately,
too, over and over. When the winter school opened,
the boys asked the teacher for the privilege of reading
it in the class, for their reading lesson ; and the privilege
was granted. All winter they read it in school, in
addition to the hours they read it out of school. When
James was through with that volume, and ready to take
up another, he could repeat pages of it, and he can
repeat them to-day.

The following summer two incidents occurred that
illustrate the character of James at that time. The
first was a proposition from a companion, whose name
we do not know, but whom we will call David, to visit a
mutual acquaintance in a distant part of the township,
on the Sabbath.

BARN-BUILDING, 105

"Not on Sunday," said James.

"Why?"

" Because it is not right.'*

" If you and I do nothing worse than that, Jim, "we
shall be pretty good fellers."

" We should not be any better, certainly, for doing
that."

" Nor any worse, in my opinion," rejoined David.

"My mother would not consent to it," continued
James.

" I don't know whether mine would, and I don't care ;
I shan't ask her," said David.

" I never should go anywhere against my mother's
advice," continued James. " I know what she thinks of
the Sabbath, and I respect her feelings. I shan't go on
Sunday."

" And you can't go on any other day, because you
have so much to do," added David ; " so we must give
up going at all, for all that I see."

" Rather than go on Sunday, I shall not go at all,'*
was James' emphatic reply. " But it is not certain that
we can never go on another day. Wait and see."

" I guess it will be wait',' answered David, sarcasti-
cally, " and keep waiting, and take it out in waiting."

"Well, I shall wait a good while before I shall go on
Sunday," added James. " If I had no scruples of my
own about it, I could take no comfort, feeling that I
went against mother's wishes."

This emphatic refusal ended the matter. It was a
fair illustration of the frank and open way that James
had of doing things. There was no artifice about him,
no double-dealing or deceitfulness. He would not con-
sent to wrong-doing even to please his best friend. He
never resorted to subterfuges to excuse himself when

io6 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

tempted to do wrong. He spoke right out plainly and
bluntly, as if it were the only way to speak. Not that
he seemed to have a higher standard of morality than
others, but it was his nature to be frank and honest
with every one, and he wanted others to be so towards
him. Companions always knew just where to find him
at all times. They knew that he could not be counted
upon for questionable practices at all. He was full of
life, and enjoyed a good time as much as any boy in
town, ready for a frolic at all suitable times, social, witty,
and sharp ; but he could not be persuaded or cajoled
into wrong-doing. He showed his colours at once.

The other incident illustrates his kindness to animals.
The old cat and James were particular friends, and
appeared to understand each other perfectly. He was
in the garden with James one day, in whose society he
seemed to find real pleasure. The same boy we have
spoken of, David, came along, and observing the cat,
began pelting him with stones, frightening puss so that
he fled to the house. David might as well have pelted
James with stones. Stone his cat, and he was stoned.

" That's outrageous," exclaimed James.

" Only a cat," answered David.

" Only cruelty, that will stone a cat," responded James.

" I didn't think it was your cat."

" It don't make any difference whose cat it is ; a cat
is a cat."

" And a rat is a rat," added David, designing to make
fun of the affair.

"I can't bear to see an animal abused," continued
James.

" I didn't hit him," pleaded David.

" No thanks to you ; you meant to hit him. You
frightened him half out of his wits."

BARN-BUILDING, 107

** He hasn't any wits to be frightened out of," retorted
David. " Nothing but a cat."

" And so you might abuse any animal in the world,
and say ' Nothing but a dog ; ' ' Nothing but a horse ; '
* Nothing but an ox.' I wouldn't abuse any creature so." .

"I don't think you would, Jim. You are too tender-
hearted for that. A mouse could play on your chin
safely if he only knew you."

" He wouldn't play on yours, Dave, if he knew you,
that's certain. It would be the most dangerous place
he could find."

"Well, Jim, ask pardon of your cat for me, will you?
I'm sorry that I offended his majesty. I'll befriend cats
for ever now." And David went on his way, leaving
James to his reflections.

This was another good trait of James', kindness to
animals. He was as kind to them as he was to human
beings. He could see no reason for abusing any
creature, however insignificant. Abuse was cruelty, in
his view.

Still another incident may be rehearsed here as well
as any place. James was a boy of spirit, though he was
neither pugnacious nor malicious. He wanted to see
the rights of the smallest boy respected, and he would
contend for it if necessary. In school there was a
fatherless boy like himself, and no big brother to take
his part. Some of the larger boys were in the habit of
teasing him, and James declared that it should stop.
James was older than the boy, though not as old as the
boys who teased him.

" It's too bad," exclaimed James ; " and if you tease
him any more you tease me."

"Tease you it is, then," answered one of the boys,
with a motion and remark indicating the attempt.

io8 FROM LOG-CAB TN TO WHITE HOUSE.

'/Just as you like," continued James. "You can
operate on me, but you shan't on that little fellow unless
you are stronger than I am. Take boys of your size, or
none."

*' You are mightily taken with that little chap," said
another boy ; "/don't see anything so very interesting
about him."

" Well, I do ; he hain't got any father nor big brother,
and I'll stand in the place of both to him in this school."

"Daddy Jim and Brother Jim it is, then," exclaimed
a large boy, aiming to make all the fun of it possible.

"Yes, anything you please, so long as you don't run
on him," answered James, pleasantly. " I can stand it
as long as you can."

And thus he shamed the teasing of the little fellow
out of the large boys, exhibiting both courage and
principle in the defence of the helpless lad. Taking
advantage of the weak, poor, and friendless, appealed
to his higher and better nature as it does now.

November came, and the harvesting was done. The
carpenter came, also, saying, —

" Another barn, James. Want another job ? "

" Yes, aching for one," James replied.

" All ready for you ; can you begin right off ? "

" To-morrow, if you want."

" You are a minute-man, I see."

" I s'pose I am, though I don't know what that is."

" Men, in the Revolution, who stood ready to defend
their country at a moment's warning, were minute- ,
men."

" Then, I'm a minute-man ; I'm ready any minute for
building a barn."

" I want to put this one through in a hurry." S

" Whose is it ?

BARN-BUILDING, log

" Bernard's, yonder."

"Oh, over there?"

It was further for James to travel than the other barn
was ; but it was all the same to him.

" It's goin' to be a larger barn."

" Much larger ? "

" No ; just enough to call it larger, that's all. See
you to-morrow morning." And Mr. Treat hastened
back, adding, as he turned to go, " same pay as before."

The details must be omitted. The building of the
barn provided James with additional facilities for learn-
ing how to frame a building ; and he improved the
opportunity. In many things he was able to go ahead
without depending upon his employer, the progress
which he made in building the first barn being of great
service to him in building the second.

"Not a word of fault to find with you, James," re-
marked his employer, when the barn was completed
" Work comes easy to you, and you earn your money."

"I mean to know how to frame a barn yet," an
swered James.

" Then you don't think you can quite do it yet ? "

" Hardly," said James.

" Pluck and brains will accomplish it, and you have
both," added Mr. Treat, intending to pay his young
employ^ a fine compliment. " TU give you another
chance at it one of these days," Mr. Treat added. " I
owe you fifteen dollars, just." And he counted out
the money, and passed it to the happy boy.
j " There ! the highest price I said, fifty cents a day ;
' and I'm well satisfied, too," Mr. Treat continued.

James had just passed his thirteenth birthday, and he
was developing rapidly into a stalwart boy for one of
his age. The. winter school opened, and he attended as

I y

no FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

usual, although he had about all there was in the text-
books at his tongue's end. He could repeat a good part
of his reading-book, and perform the problems in arith-
metic with his eyes shut ; yet it was excellent discipline
to go over them again.

That winter he found somewhere another volume
to read, that greatly interested him. It was next to
*' Robinson Crusoe," in his estimation. The book was
"Alonzo and Melissa," well suited to fascinate a boy
like him. Once reading did not satisfy him. There
were two books now that towered above all the books
he ever read, and he wondered if there were any more
like them ; if so, where } On the whole, it was a profit-
able winter to him ; and he began to feel that he could
do better for his mother than to run her little farm.
Just before the close of school, he said to his mother —

" I've been thinking that I can do better for you than
to stay on the farm. I could get twelve dollars a month
to go out to work."

" Perhaps so," was all his mother said.

"You could keep a cow, hire a man to plant what
is necessary, and take care of it ; and it wouldn't cost a
quarter as much as I can earn," James continued.

"And it would be four times as hard for you," re-
sponded Mrs. Garfield. " It's better for a boy like you
to go to school while he can, and not labour all the
time. Boys should not work too hard."

** I knew what you'd say ; I've learned that by heart,"
replied James. *'But I was never hurt by work yet,
and I never expect to be."

" Nevertheless, you may be," responded his mother.

" A feller may as well be earning something when he
can ; there's need enough of it in this part of the world,"
added Tames.

BARN-BUILDING. Ill

'* f n this part of the world ! " repeated his mother ;
** you don't seem to have so high an opinion of this part
of the country as you might. What's the trouble with
it ? "

"No trouble as I know, only a feller has a better
chance in some other places."

" Better chance for what 1 " asked his mother.

" To get a living, or make a man, or most anything,"
answered James.

" There's a better chance to get an education in some
other places, I admit ; and I hope you will enjoy it
some day," continued Mrs. Garfield.

James knew much about the world now. All that

Morse's Geography could teach him about hisown and

other countries he knew thoroughly. He had picked up

i^pmuch information, too, about New England and the

^^State of New York ; and he understood very well that

the opportunities for a boy to earn money, study, and to

■irise in the world, were greater in many other parts of

* the country. It was easy to discover the aspirations of

a noble spirit in the boy. He was beginning to feel

cramped and confined on the little farm. His soul was

outgrowing its sphere of childhood, and was waiting to

plume its wings for higher flights. The young eagle

was getting ready to leave the nest, and soar.

His mother did not look with favour upon the boy's
suggestions. James must be content to live upon the
farm for a while. Providence would open the way
out into the broad world at the right time. " Wait for
Providence."

So James suppressed ambitious desires, and contented
himself to remain at home, running the farm, working
out by the day for the farmers, as opportunity offered,
as well as working at barn-building. Before he was

112 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

fifteen years old Mr. Treat gave him an opportunity to
work on three more barns, and one shed, so that he
did learn how to frame a barn, and was really a better
carpenter, at fifteen years of age, than sorne of the
carpenters in that region who claimed to have learned
the trade. Being able to turn his hand to any kind of
labour, he found a plenty to do, leaving him but limited
time for play.

James was as fond of sports as any other boy; and
his genial nature, ready wit, and gentlemanly bearing
united to make him popular with pleasure-seekers.
Without him they had dull times. His presence added
a charm to the social circle.

As already intimated, he had grown into a large,
strong boy ; as Mr. Treat sometimes said, "as strong as
an ox." He could lift as much as the strongest man in
the vicinity, although he was not agile. He was too
large and heavy to be an expert at jumping or running ;
but his practical wisdom was as manifest in sports as
it was in works. He was such after he had passed his
fourteenth birthday — more advanced and efficient than
most youths of that day at eighteen.

We shall close this chapter with a single incident
that occurred in the winter after James' fourteenth birth-
day.

"Jim, will you go to Cleveland with me to-morrow.?"
inquired Edwin Mapes of James, as he called at Mrs.
Garfield's in the evening. "I'm goin' for father, to-
morrow."

" I don't know ; perhaps I will," replied James, in a
hesitating manner, as if it were doubtful.

"Don't know.? Who does know if you don't?
Come, go ; I want company," pleaded Edwin.

" You'll have a cold ride," suggested James.

I

BARN-BUILDING. 1:3

" Not very cold if you go," responded Edwin. *' You
and I can keep warm anywhere in Ohio. Say yes, and
I'll be off."

"Be off? what's your hurry } sit down, and I will tell
you in the course of half an hour," responded James,
teasingly.

Edwin took a seat, whereupon James added :

" Yes, I'll go, and be glad to j start as early as you
please."

" I shan't start very early ; no particular need of it
Goin' over and back, without stopping long," added
Edwin.

On the following day the two boys drove to Cleveland
together. Mr. Mapes' horse was a capital roadster, and
Edwin understood well how to drive him, and James
could ride as fast as Edwin could drive, without raising
a serious objection. So their trip was quick, and devoid
of monotony.

On their return, a rough, bloated fellow rode up
behind them, and shouted, with a volley of oaths, —

" Out the way, boys, I'm in a hurry ; " and, suiting
his motions to the word, he turned out to drive by
them.

" No, you don't," shouted Edwin, as he drew the reins
tight, and gave his horse a cut with the whip ; and
almost side by side the two teams flew along the road
for a half-mile, the whisky-soaked traveller pouring out
oaths at the boys with every blow of his whip.

" Come on," shouted Edwin to the fellow, at the same
time beckoning with his hand to him when he had left
him ten or fifteen rods in the rear. " Come on ! Come
on ! "

They were too far in advance to hear his voice, but
they could see the fellow's very expressive gesticulations

T

114 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

with his fist. James enjoyed the victory hugely, and
shook his sides with laughter.

" He told us to get out of the way, and we have," was
about all the remark that James made during the con-
test.

They drove on at a very good pace three or four
miles, when they came up to a little country inn, with
which both of them were farriiliar.

" Let's go in and warm," proposed James ; " my feet
are cold as ice."

"Agreed," answered Edwin; and turned the horse
into the shed. In less than five minutes they were
standing before the landlord's fire. In less than five
minutes more the enraged man who tried to run by
them, drove up, and entered.

" I've a good will to thrash you boys," he shouted at
the top of his voice.

The boys were very much surprised to see him in such
a passion.

" What you going to thrash us for ? " answered Edwin.

" Thrash you for, you insulting scamps } I'll let you
know," and he shook his fist in the liveliest manner, at
the same time belching forth a volley of oaths, that we
omit, since they did not embellish his language, though
they contributed some force to it.

" Why didn't you let me go by, you young rascals ? "
he continued.

" You had a plenty of room to pass ; as much room
as we had, and the same right to the road," replied
James, coolly.

" But I couldn't," the fellow bellowed, *' you good- for-
nothlng brats."

" That's not our fault," returned James. " Better
blame your horse."

I

BARN-BUILDING. 115

The latter sentence had a ring of sarcasm in it, es-
pecially as the boys laughed when it was spoken ; and
the brutal man stormed again, and swore he would
thrash them.

"Better thrash me first," said James, straightening
himself up to his full height, and appearing more like
a strong man than a boy of fourteen years. The bully
.ooked at him for a moment, as if querying whether his
antagonist was not a man after all.

" Why take you first } " he said, apparently somewhat
cowed.

" Because you will never want to thrash him after-
wards," answered James, in the most thundering voice he
could roll out. The bully turned upon his heels, jumped
into his carriage, and drove on.

James and Edwin were soon on their way home, their
conversation being upon the unusual experience of the
last hour.

"I was glad that you scared him so," remarked
Edwin. "He was a regular coward."

** I knew he was a coward when we were talking
with him," James replied. "If I hadn't I should
have kept still. I don't like to get into trouble with
anybody."

" I thought you was terribly courageous for you," re-
marked Edwin. "You roared at him like thunder.
Your big voice is enough to frighten any coward^

" I hope that it will never frighten anybody else," was
the only reply that James made.

James was in no sense a bully. Nor was he given to
brag. There was no boy in Orange township more
gentlemanly and considerate than he ; none more averse
to pugilistic contests. At the same time he would stand
up for his rights, and the rights of others. He would

ii6 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

defend his companions, too, with great courage, if they
were in the right. If they were wrong, he would not
defend them at all ; and he would frartkly state his
reason. These facts sufficiently explain his encounter
with the bully at the hotel.

A BLACK-SALTER.

The following colloquy will explain a matter that must
not be omitted.

"I have come again for James," said Mr. Smith, enter-
ing Mrs. Garfield's cottage. " Can't get along without
him when we weed the peppermint."

" Well, James will be glad to help you if he can, but
he is pretty busy now on the farm," answered Mrs.
Garfield.

'* Perhaps he can squeeze out two or three days now,
and that will help me through," continued Mr. Smith.
"I shall have twenty boys in the gang."

" I should think that was enough without James,"
remarked Mrs. Garfield.

" It's altogether too many if I dojit have him," replied
Mr. Smith. " You see the boys do as well again when
James leads them. Somehow he has wonderful influence
over them."

" I didn't know that," remarked Mrs. Garfield.

"Well, It's true; and if you should see him leading
off, and interesting them by stories, anecdotes, and fun,
you'd be surprised. He is a fast worker, and all the
boys put in and work as hard as they can to keep up,
that they may hear his stories. The boys think the
world of him."

" I'm glad to hear such good things of him," remarked

117

ii8 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

Mrs. Garfield, "I'm willing that he should help you
if he can."

" I shouldn't mind paying him something extra if he
will come," Mr. Smith continued. " I can afford to do
that. Each boy does more work, and where there's
twenty of them, it's considerable in my pocket."

" Well, you can find James, he is somewhere on the
farm ; and I'm willing he should go if you can fix it
with him/* said Mrs. Garfield.

Mr. Smith went in search of James, and found him
hard at work in the field. Making known his errand,
James could not see how it was possible for him to go,
at least for a week. But Mr. Smith soon removed his
objections, and arranged for him to come the next day.

This Mr. Smith was a farmer, and his land, on the
Chagrin Flats, was adapted to the cultivation of pepper-
mint, which he raised for the market in large quantities.
It was necessary to keep it thoroughly weeded, and for
this purpose he employed a gang of boys at different
times in the season. James had served him more than
once in that work, and the shrewd farmer had noticed
that the gang would try to keep up with James, so as
to hear his stories and interesting conversation. James
was a capital story-teller, and all that he ever read or
studied was in his head. His remarkable memory served
him a good purpose in company, whether in the field of
peppermint, or elsewhere. He could recall almost any
anecdote that he ever heard, and could relate whatever
he had learned about his own or other countries from
Morse's Geography. Add to this his jovial nature, his
conversational powers, and his singular tact, and we can
readily understand how he could " lead the gang."

So James became general of the peppermint brigade
for a few days, to accommodate Mr. Smith, and again

A BLACK-SALTER. 119

his precocity and large acquisitions of knowledge enabled
him to lead them to victory over the weeds. The weeds
melted away before their triumphant march, as the
rebels disappeared before the Ohio Forty-second Regi-
ment, sixteen years afterwards.

We said that James assisted Mr. Treat to build a shed,
in addition to the several barns. The shed was the last
building on which he worked for Mr. Treat, and it was
about ten miles from home, near Cleveland. It was an
addition to quite a large potashery, the largest in all
that region. A potashery was an establishment con-
taining vats for leeching ashes, and large kettles for
boiling the lye, reducing it to potash, which, in its crude
state, was called " black-salts." The manufacturer of the
article was called a " black-salter." The farmers in
the region, when they cleared land, drew the logs and
branches of trees together into huge piles, and burned
them, for the ashes they could collect therefrom, and
which they sold to the black-salters.

The black-salter for whom Mr. Treat built the shed,
took a great fancy to James. It was rather singular
that he did ; for he was a rough, uncultivated man him-
self. Yet the politeness, tact, and brightness of James
captivated the old man. Before the shed was completed
he resolved that he would have that uncommon boy in
his employ, if possible. One day he took James aside,
and said to him, —

" How'd yer like to come and work for me } "

James was just fifteen years old at that time. The
question was unexpected to James, and he hesitated.

" I want jist sich a hand as yer are in my business,"
the Salter, whose name was Barton, continued. " I
reckon yer can figger 'nough for me."

" I don't know about it," finally James replied ; " it is

120 FROM LOG'CABm TO WHITE HOUSE.

something I have not thought about. When do you
want me ? "

" Jist as soon as yer can ; yer can't come ter quick."

*^ I couldn't agree to come until I have seen my mother
about it, any way," Continued James. "Perhaps she
will object."

*' That's the sorter boy I 'sposed yer was, to mind yer
mother. I like yer all the better for that."

*' How long will you want me ? " inquired James.

"Jist as long as yer'U stay; as long as yer live,
maybe."

" How much will you pay me .? "

" I'll give yer fourteen dollars a month, and that's two
dollars extra pay." By this Barton meant that he would
pay him two dollars a month more than he was wont to
pay. The offer was proof that he was amazingly pleased
with James.

" I will consult my mother about it as soon as I go
home, and let you know," said James. He would not
go home until the shed was completed. He boarded
with Barton. But the shed was almost finished ; two
days more would complete it.

" How shall I know yer'U come t " said Barton, when
the shed was done, and James was about returning
home.

" If mother is willing I should engage, I will come
next Monday. If you don't see me next Monday, you
may know that I shall not come."

" That's bisniss," Barton replied. " Tell yer mother I
kin do the right thing by yer."

It was a rare offer to a boy fifteen years old — fourteen
dollars a month. James regarded it in that light. And
then, it was constant work as long as he pleased to
continue ; that was a great consideration. One hundred

A BLACK-SALTER, 121

and sixty-eight dollars a year ! The thought of so much
pay elated him very much.

" I have a chance to go right to work, mother, and
work as many months as I please, at fourteen dollars a
month," said James, as soon as he reached home.

" Where } " inquired his mother, with an air of surprise.

" For Mr. Barton, the black-salter."

" I don't think it is the right sort of business for you,
James," replied his mother.

" It's the right sort of pay though," James answered.
" But why is it not a good business for me, mother t "

** Because a rough class of men carry on the business,
and you will be exposed to many evils," his mother
said.

''Exposed to evils enough anywhere," remarked James.
" But I don't propose to attend to the evils, but to my
work."

"I have no doubt of that, my son. Your intentions
are good enough ; but you may be enticed away for all
that."

" I must be pretty weak, if that's the case."

" We are all weaker than we think we are. * Let him
that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.' We all
have reason to adopt that advice."

" Then you won't give your consent for me to go ? "
James said, inquiringly.

" I don't say that."

" What dt) you say, then } "

" I say that you had better consider the matter well
before you take so important a step."

" Can't think of it a great while, for I have promised
to begin work for him next Monday, if I begin at all."

•* As soon as that } "

" Yes ; and it looks to me as if the time had come

122 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

for me to give up the farm, that I may earn more foi
you."

" What did Mr. Treat say about it .? "

*^ He said nothing about it, because he knew nothing
about it. I didn't tell him about it."

"I suppose you must go out into the world some time,
and perhaps now is the time."

" You told me, once, to wait for Providence to open
the door," continued James ; "and if Providence didn't
open this door, then I shall never know when Providence
does open the door."

The truth was, Mrs. Garfield half thought that Provi-
dence would not open the door of a black-salter's estab-
lishment to her son; but she did not say so. She smiled
at James' application of her teachings about Providence,
and remarked :

" Perhaps Providence did open this door. If you go
to Mr. Barton's, and resist all temptations to evil, and
maintain your good character, that will be proof that
Providence opened this door. The proof of it depends
on yourself."

" Then you give your consent t " said James.

" Yes, I give my consent, and hope it will turn out for
the best."

Barton was a happy man on the following Monday,
when James presented himself at his door, with all his
worldly possessions tied up in a pocket-handkerchief.

" Yer've come," he said. " Yer kin put your duds in
yer sleeping-room ; " and he showed him where he
would lodge, and then proceeded to the manufactory for
work.

The establishment was a nasty place, and the business,
or much of it, was dirty. Shovelling ashes, attending to
the boilers, and disposing of the black-salts, was not an

i

A B LA CA'-S ALTER. 12.]

inviting business. However, Janies did not have the
dirtiest part of the work to do, unless it was occasionally.
He kept the books, waited on men who delivered ashes
at the establishment, paying their bills, and he waited on
customers also, acting as salesman. He did other things
when necessary, always improving his time, and looking
after the establishment, as if he were Barton's son. He
was the first one at the ashery in the morning, and the
last one to leave at night. Barton soon learned to trust
him with implicit confidence, and a father could not have
been kinder to the boy than he was.

One day a man brought a load of ashes, saying,
" There are twenty-five bushels." James had not been
at the establishment long, before he resolved to measure
all ashes purchased as they were unloaded. Mr. Barton
usually took them for the number of bushels claimed
James directed the men in the ashery to measure the
load in question as it was unloaded, and he kept tally.
There were scarcely more than twenty-two bushels.

" Only twenty-two bushels, sir," said James to the
owner.

"There were twenty-five bushels according to my
measure," said the man.

" And twenty-two according to mine," replied James.
" I will pay you for twenty-two bushels — no more."

" I think you made a mistake," remarked the man.
I " If there was any mistake, I think you made it," re-
torted James. " Three heads are better than one, and
three of us attended to the measuring. Shall I pay you
for twenty-two bushels } "

*' Yes, pay away," the man answered, sulkily.

Barton came in just then, when James told him what
had happened ; and afterwards he told him further, that
there was a great deal of cheating practised upon him,

f24 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

and it was quite time for his interests to be looked after
more closely. All this served to increase Barton's con-
fidence in James.

The men with whom James had to do about the
establishment were about as his mother had supposed —
a rough, wicked class. . But James had nothing to do
with them except in the business, and they made no
impression upon him as to weakening his principles.
Most of them were terribly profane, and one day James
interrupted one of them, saying :

" Jake, what makes you swear so } You are awful.
What good does it do you ? "

" I s'pose it gits some of yer bad stuff out of me," was
Jake's prompt reply.

" If that is the case, all the bad stuff ought to have
been out of you long ago ; you have sworn enough to
empty yourself."

" Nary bisness of yers, any way," the swearer an-
swered.

" I should think that the more bad stuff you let out,
the more there was left, Jake," continued James. " 1
don't want you should empty any more of it about
me."

" What is 't to yer, any way ? " answered the godless
fellow, displeased at the rebuke.

" It is a very bad habit, Jake, as you know," answered
James. " It does you no good, and it is very unpleasant
to many persons who hear you."

" Stop your ears, then," said Jake, angrily.

" There is no use being mad over it, Jake. I don't
like to hear your profanity ; and now suppose you just
please me a little, and not spill any more of the stuff
near me."

Jake laughed, and turned to his work. He could not

A BLACKS ALTER. 125

be very angry with James, for he thought too much of
him. In this frank and honest way James dealt with
the men. There was no danger that he would be en-
ticed away by that class of men. Another danger, how-
ever, met him in the house, and for a time it was an
unsettled question whether Providence or Satan opened
that door. If his good mother had been cognizant of
what was going on, she would have discovered ample
reason for her apprehensions.

A book-loving boy like James would not be long in a
strange place without finding all the books there were ;
so books were among the first things that attracted his
attention in Barton's house. There were " Marryat's
Novels," "Sindbad the Sailor," "The Pirate's Own Book,"
"Jack Halyard," "Lives of Eminent Criminals," "The
Buccaneers of the Caribbean Seas," plundering a Spanish
galleon ; and perhaps some others of the same character.
The adventure and marvellous exploitSi contained in
these volumes were suited to fire his imagination and
inflame his heart. He was thus introduced into a new
experience altogether, more perilous to him than a
regiment of coarse, brutal men. He made books his
most intimate companions, and trusted them with entire
confidence. He could read deceitful and designing men
around him, and bluff them off ; but he took the volumes
that he read directly to his heart, and communed with
them, as friend communes with friend.

Volume after volume of this pernicious reading was
devoured, causing Mr. Barton to remark to others of the
"great scholar" in his employ. Barton himself did not
understand but that the volumes in his house were
as safe for a boy to read as the Bible ; nor did he care
much. His daughter had purchased these books from
time to time, and read them, too, and why should he.

i.

126 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

igiiorant man that he was, appreciate the tendency of
such reading? His daughter was a young woman grown,
possessing considerable native ability, but little culture,
though she was the belle of the town. She wrote poetry
occasionally for a paper that had been started in Cleve-
land, a circumstance that gave her some notoriety among
the people.

" I see you like reading," she said to James one
evening, when he was rapt over one of Marryat's novels.

"There's nothing I like better. I never read books
like these before," he answered.

" They are very interesting books, I think," she added.

" You've read them, have you } "

" Yes ; I bought them, and I have read them all more
than once."

" I think I shall read them more than once. I'm glad
I came here to live. These long evenings would be dull
for me without books."

" You'd have to go to Damon's with the men, evenings,
if you had no books," the young woman suggested.
Damon's was the store where the post-office was kept ;
and there the male portion of the population were wont
to congregate in the evening, to talk politics, nonsense,
and lewdness, according to circumstances. It was a
motley crowd, whose appearance would have terrified
Mrs. Garfield, could she have seen them ; and yet her
James was in worse company, for him, every evening,
poring over those fascinating and corrupting books. He
did not know his danger, and so his danger was greater.
To the young woman's suggestion, James replied, —

" I couldn't go there."

"Why?" she asked.

" I don't like that sort ot company.'*

" It's not very attractive, I think," she conceded.

A BLACK'SALTER,

111

" My mother would be frightened to see me in such
company."

If James had only known, he might have said, with
equal truth, perhaps, that his mother would be frightened
to see him in the company of such books. But he had
ho thoughts in that direction. He had become infatu-
ated over these mute, yet loquacious, companions.

When the family retired at night, James would take
his light and book and go to his room, but not to bed.
Twelve o'clock often found him reading, almost oblivious
to the cold that pinched his flesh and made him shiver.
But his young blood seemed to be warmed by the ex-
citement and enthusiasm begotten by his reading.

One night he retired, excited and wakeful. As he lay
musing, he said, within himself :

" I will see some of the world yet. I shan't always
follow this business."

Then he turned over to invite sleep, but was still
wakeful.

" A black-salter ! " he continued. " It is not the sort
of work for me. Can't see much of the world, tied down
here."

He turned over again, restless and nervous, but sleep
was chary.

**I should like to be a sailor, and see more of the
world ; go to other countries, and see the great cities ;
it's splendid," his mind said ; and he was not sleepy at all.

"What's the use of staying at home always, and
seeing nothing, when the great world is open. I mean
to try it some time."

And so he went on discussing the matter within him-
self, and reasoning away many of the staid and valuable
ideas that had kept him a noble boy.

" I wonder what mother will say to it } Women are

123 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

always afraid, and want to keep their boys at home all
the time. I s'pose she will make a terrible fuss about
it ; but I mean to see more of the world, somehow."

Sleep finally came to his relief, and he dreamed of
ships bearing him over the ocean to other lands, where
fairy-like cities delighted his vision ; and other enrap-
turing scenes, that exist only in dreams, made him
thrice happy. It was quite evident now that Satan was
opening the door of the future wide, instead of that
Providence whose watch and care his good mother had
invoked.

He continued a faithful labourer to Mr. Barton, attend-
ing to the details of the business with promptness, and
securing his love and confidence. Barton watched him
with pride, and once he said to him :

" Yer kin read, yer kin write, and yer are death on
figgers ; so stay with me, keep my 'counts, and tend
to the saltery. I'll find yer, and glad to give yer the
fourteen dollars a month."

" I want to be a sailor," replied James.

"A sailor! " exclaimed Barton, in amazement. "Yer
don't mean it. There's too much of yer for that bisness.
What's put that idee into yer head } "

" I want to see more of the world than I can see in
Ohio," answered James. " It will be dull business to
make black-salts all my days."

" We'll, yer will never go to sea if yer take my advice.
Stay here, and some day yer'll have a saltery of yer
own."

- *' I don't want one," replied James. " I'd rather have
something else."

" My word for it," continued Barton ; " yer are too
good a boy to spile on the seas. Stay with me, and
some day yer'll have a saltery as big as our'n."

i

i

A BLACK-SALTER, 129

" I wouldn't spend my life in this business for a dozen
salteries as big as this," replied James.

Barton was exeedingly afraid that he should lose
his excellent employe, and so he endeavoured to make
his position agreeable as possible. His praise, too, was
not stinted at all.

"Yer are a cute boy, good at readin', good at
figgers, good at work, good at everything," he would say;
" stay with me, and I'll do we' el by yen"

James continued through the winter, until April
opened, when the following incident terminated his
career as a salter.

Barton's daughter had a beau, and he came to see her
one night when James was working over some difficult
problems in arithmetic. There was but one room below
in the farmhouse, and that was a very large one, so the
young couple occupied a distant corner, James and the
**old folks" sitting near the fireplace. James took in
the situation well for a boy of his years, and designed
to retire as soon as the girl's father and mother did ; but
he became so absorbed in his arithmetic that he did not
notice they had left the room, until the impatient girl
startled him by the remark, —

" I should think it was time for hired servants to be
abed."

James' anger was aroused. He looked at her fiercely
for a moment, but said nothing. Then he took his
candle and started for his room, his very tread on the
floor showing that the invincible spirit within him was
thoroughly stirred. The coast was now clear for the
matrimonial aspirants, though at quite a loss to the
establishment, as the sequel will show.

James could not sleep. The sarcastic girl had
knocked sleep out of him.

K

I30 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

'■^ Hired servant ! ^^ he repeated to himself, over and
over. "And that's all I am in this concern, — ^* a^ hired
servant.* I'll not be a * servant' long, let them know."
And he tried to compose himself, and forget his trouble
by going to sleep, but in vain.

" Hired servant ! " It would not down at his bidding.
He kept repeating it, in spite of himself; and the more
he repeated it, the more his feelings were harrowed.

" ' Hired servant ! ' I can rise above that, I know,
and I will. I'll not stay in this place another day, let
what will happen. I'll leave to-morrow. The trollope
shall see whether I'm a * hired servant' or not. F II hire
servants yet."

The fact was, that unexpected appellation proved to
James just what the kick in the stomach, which the
schoolmate gave to Newton, did. The kick made a
scholar out of Newton ; the girl's remark aroused latent
aspirations in James' heart to be somebody. Years
afterwards, when James had become a man, and was
battling with the stern realities of life, he said, *' That
girl's cutting remark proved a great blessing to me. I
was too much annoyed by it to sleep that night ; I lay
awake under the rafters of that old farmhouse, and
vowed, again and again, that I ivoiild be somebody ; that
the time should come when that girl would not call me
a ' Jii7'ed servant! "

The bad books, however, very nearly turned the aspi-
rations awakened into the way to ruin instead of honour.

James arose early in the morning, dressed himself, and
tied up his few possessions in a bundle, and presented
himself to Mr. Barton for settlement.

" I'm going to leave to-day," he said.

If he had fired off a pistol at his employer, the latter
would not have been more astounded.

A BLACK-SALTER,

i^i

' Goin' ter leave ! " he exclaimed.

" Yes ; I'm done working at this business."

" Hi, Jim, yer can't mean it."

" I do mean it/' answered James ; and he adhered to
his purpose against the entreaties and good promises of
his employer, and that, too, without saying a word to
him about the " hired servant." The upshot was, that
Mr. Barton paid him off, and James was at home before
noon.

XI.

A WOOD-CHOPPER.

" Home for good," said James to his mother, on enter-
ing the house. " Got enough of saltering."

" I am glad to see you, James ; but what's the matter
now ? " his mother replied.

" Matter enough. I've come home to stay."

" I'm glad of that."

"I can be somebody if I try, instead of a 'hired
servant,' " continued James, speaking the last two words
contemptuously.

" What now ? Have you had any trouble with Mr.
Barton .? "

** None at all ; he is one of the kindest men in the
world. I shouldn't want to work for a better man."

" What, then, is to pay } " urged his mother, earnestly.

James rehearsed to her the experience of the previous
evening, and his determination to quit the business^
together with Mr. Barton's disappointment at his leav-
ing, and his entreaties for him to stay. Mrs. Garfield
listened attentively to the recital, which closed by his
saying,—

" There are fifty-six dollars for you, mother."

" You are indeed thoughtful of your mother, and the

money will add many comforts to our home," replied

Mrs. Garfield ; " but did you not act rather hastily } "

" Hastily or not, I've acted, and that is the end of it,"

13a

I

A WOOD-CHOPPER, 133

replied James. " I didn't exactly want to give up the
job, on account of the pay, but I have."

" I should think much of Mr. Barton's kindness, and
his disappointment," suggested his mother.

"And minded nothing about the insulting girl, I
s'pose } "

" I shouldn't care for her. I don't suppose she meant
any evil by her remark. Besides, it is not dishonour-
able to be a hired servant, especially if you are a good
one," added his mother.

** That is not the thing, mother. I don't think it is
dishonourable to be a * hired servant* It was the girl's
insulting way of saying it, and it stirred me up to want
to be somebody in the world, and I mean to be."

" I hope it will all turn out for the best, my son ; and
I believe that Providence will overrule it for good."

"I must look out for another job now," remarked James.

" And not stay at home } "

" No ; I can earn more for you away."

" Well, as you think best," said his mother. " I dare-
say you will have a plenty of chances."

"I would like to go to sea, mother," added James,
hesitatingly.

If he had struck his mother in her face, she would not
have been more shocked.

"Why, James ! " she exclaimed.

" I've been thinking about it," James continued.

" Thinking about it, James ! What has got into you ?
You shock me."

" I don't wish to go against your will, mother," James
added.

" You will go against my will if you ever go to sea,
James. Be a salter, or anything else, rather than a
sailor."

134 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

^' Why, mother?"

" You certainly can never be ' somebody/ as you say,
by going to sea."

" I can be a commander of a vessel, perhaps^ and
some day I may own one ; who knows ? "

"Who knows what you wouldn't be, James, if you
should become a sailor. Say no more about such a
step, if you want to make your mother happy."

The subject was dropped there, and James proceeded
to look about the farm. For several days he busied
himself in putting things in order, awaiting work else-
where. At length he heard that his uncle, living at
Newburg, near Cleveland, wanted to hire wood-choppers.
His uncle was clearing a large tract of forest near the
line of Independence township. After conferring with
his mother, and seeking the advice of his uncle, Amos
Boynton, he decided to go to Newburg. His mother
was quite willing that he should go there, because his
sister Mehetabel had married, and was living there ;
and James could board with her. Three days after
James presented himself at his uncle's door in Newburg,
making known his errand.

*'Glad to see you, James," was his uncle's cordial
welcome. " How you grow ! almost a man now ! Yes,
I've work enough to be done at chopping, if men will
only do it."

" I like to chop," interrupted James.

"A great many don't," replied his uncle; "and chop-
ping wood is pretty hard work, about as hard as any
work there is."

" I don't think so," remarked James. " I do not get
so tired chopping as I have been sometimes planing
boards."

" Well, let's see," continued his uncle ; " how much of

A WOOD-CHOPPER. 13S

a job at chopping can you undertake ? It's coming
warm weather, and you don't want to chop wood when
it is too hot, do you ? "

" Perhaps not ; I can chop two months, sure."

"Suppose you take a job of one hundred cords to cut,
James ; how will that do ? "

" I will agree to that. How much will you pay me a
cord .? "

" I will pay you fifty cents a cord for one hundred
cords ; and the fifty dollars shall be ready for you as
soon as the work is done. How long will you be cut-
ting it 1 "

" Fifty days," James quickly answered.

" A little longer than that, I reckon, unless you are a
mighty smart chopper," suggested his uncle. " There's
a great difference in men, and boys too, in chopping
wood."

" I shall cut two cords a day, right along," said James.
'^ I can do it easily."

** That's pretty good chopping — better than the
average, by considerable," replied his uncle ; " and you
are larger and stronger than the average of choppers, I
guess."

•The bargain was clinched, and James passed on to
his sister's, who gave him a warm greeting, and agreed
to board him. So James was once more settled, and
ready to proceed to business. The next morning he
appeared in the role of a wood-chopper ; not a new
occupation to him.

It was unfortunate for James that his work was in full
view of Lake Erie, on whose blue bosom he could see
a plenty of craft sailing at any time. The location
seemed to conspire with the bad books at Barton's to
fan his desire for a sea-farina life into a flame. In the

136 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

circumstances, it was not strange that James did not
forget the books he had read. He often stopped in his
work to watch a vessel gliding over the waves like a
swan, and sometimes he would seat himself upon a log
to count the sails appearing in the distance. It was a
rare spectacle to him, and his young heart bounded with
delight. He cherished the secret thought that some
day he would be sailing over that very lake.

There were several choppers near him, one of them a
German. He was a clever man, and spoke very broken
English. James thought he was a slow chopper, and
noticed that his axe did not fly briskly. At the end of
a week, however, he found that the German had cut
and corded two cords a day, — ^just the amount he him-
self had cut.

" I don't understand it," he said to his sister, on going
home. " I strike two blows to the German's one, and
yet he has cut as many cords as I have."

" Perhaps he strikes heavier blows," suggested his
sister.

" I doubt it," replied James ; " but I will find out the
reason."

James was on the alert to find out the reason of the
German's success. Nor was he left long in the dark.
Lake Erie had no attractions for the Teutonic chopper,
and so he kept steadily at his work from morning until
night, while James frequently stopped to watch the sails
in the distance. The German did not strike blows so
rapidly as James, nor were his blows more telling, but
he was steadily at work from morning until night.
James comprehended the whole, and it was a good les-
son to him. He took his first lesson of application and
perseverance of the German wood-chopper, and reduced
it to practice at once. It rather cooled his fiery ardour

A WOOD-CHOPPER, 137

for the sea. He confessed to his sister that he wasted
some time in watching sails on the lake. At the same
time, he owned that he had a longing for the sea.

"You surprise me, James," his sister said. "I never
thought that of you. You can't be in earnest, can you ?"

" I never was more earnest in my life," answered
James, coolly. " The height of my ambition is to com-
mand a ship."

" Captain Garfield ! That is the title you want to
earn, is it ? " remarked his sister. " I hope you'll never
get it."

" You know that was the title of one of our great
ancestors. Captain Benjamin Garfield," suggested James.

" But he didn't get his title on a ship, by any means ;
he got it in the Revolutionary war," retorted his sister.
" Anything but a sailor."

"I might be something worse than that," added
James.

"Not unless you become a mean ;;^^;/," quickly an-
swered his sister.

" You had rather I would get the title by shooting
men in war, than bringing goods from foreign ports, had
you ? " said James, in a sarcastic manner.

" I rather you would be a wood-chopper all your days
than to be a sailor," was his sister's prompt reply. " I
think mother would say the same. You have too much
talent to throw away on the deck of a ship."

James received no encouragement from any quarter
to become a sailor ; and his aspirations in that direction
became somewhat modified. He thought less of a sea-
faring life for a time, and devoted himself to wood-
chopping with commendable industry. Two cords a
day were cut and piled with ease. He could have cut
two corgis and a half each day without lengthening his

ll»

138 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

days inordinately. But he had fixed the limit when he
began, and James was not the boy to change his pur-
pose.

His sister owned a few books, and his uncle more :
and, between them both, James was quite well provided
with reading. A newspaper, that his uncle took, occu-
pied his attention till each number was read through.
Nor were the books objectionable, like those at Barton's.
They were healthy and profitable volumes for such a
reader as James, who preferred a book to the society of
the young men of the town, who might gather at any
rendezvous. His reading, too, appeared to offset his
growing desire for the sea. Engrossing his attention in
the subject-matter of the books, excluded, in a measure,
at least for the time, his hankering for a ship. His
evenings were wholly given up to reading, some of them
extending considerably beyond bed-time. The tempta-
tion to lengthen his evenings for reading he could not
resist so readily as he could the temptation to lengthen
the days for chopping.

James chopped the hundred cords of wood in fifty
, days, and received his pay, according to the contract.
On paying him, his uncle said :

" I hope you will not always be a wood-chopper,
James, although it is a necessary and honourable busi-
ness. But you are competent to do something of more
consequence. The way may open for you to get an
education yet : how would you like that ? "

" I should like it," answered James, although he
would have said, " I want to go to sea," if he had really
dared to risk it. But he had good reason to suppose
that his uncle would resolutely rebuke any such ex-
pression. So he desisted. Nor did he tell a falsehood
by saying that he would like to acquire an education,

A WOOD-CHOPPER, 139

for his taste was strong in that direction ; but he could
discover no way into that field of clover.

Bidding his uncle and sister good-bye, James re-
turned home, and presented his mother with the balance
of the fifty dollars, after paying for his board. His
mother was rejoiced to see her boy, wondering all the
while if his desire for a sea-faring life survived. She
thought it not best, however, to open a subject that was
so unpleasant to her, for fear it might prove agreeable
to him. Nothing was said about the sea.

It was the last week in June, and James would like
a job for the summer. His uncle Amos told him of a
farmer, five or six miles away, who wanted to hire a
man through haying and harvesting, about four months.
James went immediately to see him, bargained to work
for him from July to November, four months, and
accordingly took up his abode with the man on the
first day of July.

A stout, muscular fellow like James was supposed to
be an efficient hand in the hay-field. His employer
liked his appearance, and expected much of him. Nor
was he disappointed. His strength enabled him to
swing a scythe and pitch hay with power, though he was
a boy in age. Then he possessed a boy's pride in his
strength, and delighted to astonish his employer by an
exhibition of it. Boy like, he found great pleasure in
keeping squarely up with his employe! in the mowing
field, sometimes cutting his corners. His power of en-
durance was remarkable ; and he never appeared to tire,
or " play out," as the boys say.

James found no books here, or none worth mention-
ing. The people cared little about reading, though
they were people of character. But farming was their
business, and they worked early and late. When the

140 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

day's work was done, they went to bed, and, at four
o'clock in the morning, they were up and ready for
another day's work. Thus it was through the whole
busy season of the year. James kept abreast of them.
" If I can't do what other folks can, I'll quit," he said
to himself more than once.

Nothing unusual occurred during the four months,
excepting only two incidents, which we will narrate.

James was digging potatoes in October, and putting
them into the cellar. On going to the house with a
load one day, he found a neighbour discussing the sub-
ject of baptism with his employer's daughter.

" Sprinkling Is baptism," James heard him say.
"Immersion is no more. A drop of water is as good
as a fountain."

" Sprinkling is not baptism, according to Alexander
Campbell," replied the young woman ; " and I don't see
how it can be."

" I said, according to the Bible. I don't care a fig for
Alexander Campbell," the neighbour rejoined.

** That makes your position harder to support," in-
terrupted James, with the design of affording relief to
the farmer's daughter, whom he very much respected.

" What do you know about it ?" exclaimed the neigh-
bour, somewhat annoyed at the boy's interruption.
"You know more about potatoes than the Scripters,
according to my idee."

'^ You can't prove that sprinkling is baptism, from the
Bible," added James.

" That's all you know about it," retorted the man.

" See here," continued James, thinking he would sur-
prise the disputant by his familiarity with the Scrip-
tures; "how do you get along with this.?" And he
proceeded to quota from Hebrews : ** Let us draw near

A WOOD-CHOPPER, 141

With a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience."

" There, you see it says * sprinkled/ " interrupted the
neighbour, quite elated.

" But, hold on ! " replied James ; " wait, and hear the
rest of it. You are in too big a hurry." And James
repeated the remainder of the text: "and our bodies
washed with pure water." He laid stress on the word
** washed," adding :

" Now tell me, if you can, how you can wash your
body in a drop of water."

Without waiting for a reply, he hurried away to the
potato-patch.

The other incident relates to his desire to go to sea.
He concluded to sound his employer one day, and he said .

**What do you think about my goin' to sea ? "

" Goin' to see what ? " answered the farmer.

" To ship, and be a sailor," answered James.

" Likely story that you would undertake that busi-
ness." ^. ,

" I'm thinking of it." I

" I guess you'll take it out in thinking.'*

" Honest, though, I'm not joking. I want to com-
mand a ship."

" Well, if you was my boy," retorted the farmer, " I
should command you to shut up. It's the last place for
you to go. Better dig potatoes all your days."

" I will shut up," repeated James, quite amused at
the farmer's decided way of opposing a sea-faring life.
He did not mention the subject again.

James completed his four months' labour with the
farmer, for which he received twelve dollars a month, —
forty-eight dollars in all, — with the farmer's laconic
endorsement, — " You've done well."

XII.

A CANAL BOY.

James was restive and dissatisfied when he returned
home. His mother saw that he was uneasy, and she
feared that he was thinking about the sea. Nor was
she mistaken in her apprehensions, although she re-
mained silent on the subject. Thus matters continued
through the winter ; James attending school, and look-
ing after the place. In the spring he worked at odd jobs
in the town, until the farm demanded his attention. It
was evident, however, that his heart was not in his work.
His thoughts were on the sea. At last he seemed to
reach a point where he could restrain his desires no
longer. It was about the first of July. He said to his
mother :

" Mother, you don't know how I long for the sea.
Why cannot I look after a place on a ship .?"

"Where do you want to ship to, James."*" his mother
replied.

This answer was unexpected. James anticipated a
direct refusal, but the answer indicated a change of
feeling in his mother, he thought ; and it encouraged
him to proceed. There was really no change in his
mother's feelings, but she was a sagacious woman, and
there was a change in her tactics.

" I'm not particular where ; I want to see something

of the world," was James' answer.

143

'

A CANAL BOY, 143

"It's rather queer for a boy of your ability not to
know where he wants to go," said his mother. " If I
wanted to go somewhere, I would find out zvhere in the
first place. You don't care whether you go to Europe,
Asia, or Africa!"

" Not exactly that," replied James ; " I would like to
cross the Atlantic."

" And be sick enough of it before you got half across,"
remarked Mrs. Garfield. " Boys don't know what they
want."

" / know what / want," retorted James ; " and that
is what I am trying to tell you. I want to try life on
the ocean. If I don't like it, I'll give it up."

"That's not so easy. You get out to the Mediter-
ranean, or to China, and it will not be very easy to give
it up and come home. You will wish that you had taken
your mother's advice." His mother said this with much
feeling.

"I shall never know till T try," James continued.
" But I will never go to sea, or anywhere else, unless
you consent."

" Suppose you try a trip in a schooner on Lake Erie
first, and see how you like it," suggested his mother.
" Perhaps you won't like it. You will not be far from
home then."

" Are you willing that I should do that } " inquired
James, brightening up at the prospect.

" I much rather you would do that than to cross the
Atlantic, and I would give my consent to that," his
mother answered, with reluctance.

" It is settled, then," replied James. " I shall start for
Lake Erie as soon as I can get ready."

Mrs. Garfield's tactics prevailed. She had given much
thought to the subject, and had reluctantly concluded

144 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

that, if worse came to worse, she would compromise
with the boy, and allow him to ship on Lake Erie. She
feared that his desire to become a sailor would prove
incontrollable, and that he would eventually go to sea,
any way. Perhaps, by allowing him to try life on
shipboard, in a smaller way, and so near home as the
familiar lake, would result in his abandoning the idea of
a " life on the ocean- wave " altogether.

James prepared for his departure as soon as possible ;
and taking what money was necessary, with his inevit-
able bundle, he returned his mother's kiss, but not her
tears, and started for Cleveland, where he expected to
ship. He walked the whole distance, seventeen miles,
and was in sight of the tempting sails at twelve o'clock,
noon.

He proceeded directly to the wharf, and boarded the
first schooner he found.

" Chance for another hand on board } " he inquired of
one of the crew.

The sailor addressed answered, "The captain will
soon come up from the hold."

So James waited, expecting soon to stand in the
presence of a stout, gentlemanly, noble-looking man,
just such a captain as he had read of in books. He did
not wait long before the sailor, whom he had addressed,
remarked :

" The captain is coming."

James heard a tremendous noise below, as if there
was trouble of some kind ; and then he heard a human
voice belching out most horrible oaths at somebody, or
something, as if the captain of the infernal regions was
approaching. He scarcely knew what to make of it
But, while he stood wondering, the captain appeared, —
a drunken, beastly, angry fellow, — a whisky-barrel on

A CANAL BOY, 145

legs, his mouth its bung-hole, pouring out the vilest stuff
possible. James had seen some hard customers before,
but if the pit could send up a more horrible sample of
humanity from its " hold," he did not wish to meet him.
James looked at the creature a moment, and the dis-
gusting creature looked at him, when he ventured to
approach him, saying, in a gentlemanly way :

" Captain > "

" Yes ; what you want .? "

" Do you want to hire another hand for your
schooner } "

" What if I do, you green land-lubber } " exclaimed
the captain, with another torrent of oaths. "Get off
this schooner in double-quick, or I'll throw you into the
dock."

James attempted to excuse himself in a polite way,
but the infuriated wretch only cursed and raved the
more, swinging his fists in the most threatening manner.

" Get out, I say, or I'll be the death of you. S'pose
I'd hire such a lubber and greenhorn to run my
schooner ! " And the blackest oaths continued to roll
out of his mouth.

The last sound of that terrible voice that lingered on
James' ear, as he hurried from the craft, was that of
profanity. Such a repulse he never dreamed of. He
scarcely thought such a scene possible anywhere. He
had read of sailors and captains, but he had never read
of such a captain as that He began to think that books
are not always reliable. It was the first time he had
ever stopped to think that men are not always what
they are represented to be in books. The experience
was a damper to his sea-faring propensity. In this
respect, it was a good thing for the boy. As it turned
out, the drunken captain prevented him from becoming

L

146 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

a sailor. It was a rather rough way of being turned
aside from a purpose, but the roughest usage sometimes
leads to the best results.

James sat down on a pile of wood to muse on the
ways of the world, and to eat a lunch which he put into
his pocket on leaving home. He could not understand
the philosophy of such a course as the captain pursued.
He did nothing to provoke him. "He," he thought,
"was provoked before I saw him, for I heard his fear-
ful oaths." He concluded, finally, that he did appear
rather green and rough to the captain, for his clothes
were countrified and worn ; and perhaps he did not
know exactly how to present himself to a sea captain,
Salter, wood-chopper, and farmer as he was. The more
he pondered the more he found an excuse for the
captain, and the less disposed he was to relinquish his
purpose to be a sailor.

He ceased to muse, and walked along the wharf,
perhaps not exactly satisfied what to do next. He was
soon startled, however, by a voice, —

"Jim! Jim!"

James turned about ; the voice came from a canal
boat.

" Halloo, Jim ! How came you here ? "

It was Amos Letcher, his cousin, who called to him
from the canal boat.

" You here, Amos } " exclaimed James ; and he was
on board the boat in a hurry, shaking hands with his old
friend and relative.

" How came you here } " inquired Amos. " The last
I knew of you, you was chopping wood."

" I came over to see if I could find a chance to ship
on the lake," replied James.

"What luck?"

A CANAL BOY, Il7

"Not much, yet."

" Seen anybody ? "

Finally James rehearsed his experience on the
schooner, to which Amos listened with a kind of comical
interest.

" Hot reception," remarked Amos, after listening to
the recital. " Some of the captains are hard customers,
I tell you."

" Hard ! " repeated James ; *' that is no name for that
fellow. I s'pose he is human ; he looks like a man, but
he is more of a demon."

" You wouldn't like to ship with such a brute, would
you } " Amos inquired.

" No ; I'd rather chop wood."

" How would you like a canal boat ? "

" I don't know ; would it help me to get a place on a
ship?"

" It might, some."

" Another hand wanted oii this boat ? " James asked.

" Yes, we want another driver."

" Where's the captain ? "

"/am captain."

"You captain, Amos?" replied James, with much
surprise.

"Yes, I am captain; and I should be right glad to
hire you."

" Driver ! that is, I drive the horses > " added James^
inquiringly.

" That is just it ; not so hard as chopping wood."

" Where do you go to } "

" To Pittsburg."

" What do you carry ? "

" Copper ore."

" I think I will engage. Captain Letcher," continued

i48 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

James, repeating the title of his cousin, to see how it
sounded. " How much will yo'u pay me ? "

" Twelve dollars a month ; that is what we pay
Orivers."

" I'll take the position. Captain Letcher, and do the
best I can."

" And I shan't ask you to do any better than that,"
said Amos, as facetiously as James had repeated his
title.

"We start to-morrow morning," added the captain.
" You will not lose much time."

"So much the better," answered James, thinking
himself quite fortunate on the whole.

The canal at that time was a great thoroughfare
between Lake Erie and the Ohio River. Copper mining
was carried on extensively on Lake Superior, and the
ore was brought down to Cleveland in schooners, and
from thence was taken to Pittsburg by canal. The
name of the canal boat commanded by Captain Letcher
was Evening Star, and its capacity was seventy tons.
It was manned with two steersmen, two drivers, a bow-
man, and a cook, besides the captain, — seven men in all.
The bowman's business was to make the locks ready,
and to stop the boat as it entered the lock, by throwing
the bowline, that was attached to the bow of the boat,
around the snubbing post. The drivers' were furnished
with two mules each, which were driven one before the
other ; one driver with his mules serving a given number
of hours, then giving place to the other, and going en
board with his mules.

Boatmen, as a class, were rough fellows then. " Pro-
fane, coarse, vulgar, whisky-drinkers," describes them
exactly. Rum and tobacco were among their neces-
saries of life, about as much so as bread or meat They

A CANAL BOY. 149

cared nothing for morals and religion, and often made
them the butt of ridicule. The best fellow was the one
who could drink the most whisky, and sing the worst
songs. Of course such fellows were no compatiy for
James. The contrast between him and one of this class
was very marked. It was a new and hard school for
him.

At sunrise, on the following morning, James took his
turn at mule-driving, the captain starting him off well
by some instructions. The boat was to pass through
the first lock before James hitched on. This done, and
James stepped directly into the rank of mule-driver. It
was going to sea on a small scale, and so there was some
fascination about it. And yet he was on the tow-path
instead of the water, except when he tumbled in.
Within an hour James heard the captain, —

" Hi, Jim ! Boat comin'. Steady."

James knew it as well as the captain, and designed
to pass the boat with signal success. But somehow^ he
could scarcely tell how, the two drivers got their lines
tangled, interrupting the progress of the mules. The
lines were soon separated, but the impetus of Captain
Letcher's boat, in the delay, pushed it up square with the
horses, when the steersman called out, —

" Hurrah, Jim, whip up that team, or your line will
ketch on the bridge." There was a waste- way just
ahead.

** Ay ! " James answered, as he whipped the mules
into a trot.

" Steady, steady ! " called the captain, fearing that
James was rushing into trouble by too much speed.
The caution was too late, however. Just as the team
reached the middle of the bridge the lines tightened,
and jerked driver and mules into the canal.

I50 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

" Quick ! help ! " shouted the captain, and every man
ran to their rescue.

" Hold on, Jim ! " cried the bowman, meaning that
James should understand deliverance was at hand.
James was holding on as well as he could, with two
stupid mules to manage in the water. For some minutes
it was difficult to tell how the affair would terminate,
for there was serious danger that mules and driver would
go to the bottom together. But it had always been
James' good fortune to come to the top. So he did here ;
and he was soon astride the leading mule, urging him
out of the difficulty. A few minutes only elapsed before
all were rescued, with no injury except a good ducking.

During the process of rescuing the unfortunate victims
of the accident, there was no jesting or light remarks,
but one serious, earnest effort to save the mules, and to
rescue James. But no sooner were the sufferers safe on
the tow-path than a general laughter and merry time
over the mishap ensued.

" Yer a good Baptist now, Jum," exclaimed one of the
steersmen, terminating his explosive laughter.

"Yer see how we 'nitiate greenhorns into canal bisniss,"
said another of the men.

" I kind o' thought yer was a gonner at first," added
a third.

Finally, the captain said, jocosely, " Jim, .what was
Vou doin' down there in the canal } "

"Takin' my mornin' bath," answered James, "Re-
freshin'."

" Washin' the mules, I reckon'd," chimed in one of the
men.

"All ready, now!" shouted the captain; "Jim has
washed himself, and is now ready to proceed to bisness.
All aboard ! " And they were off in a jiffy.

A CANAL BOY. 151

The bantering did not cease with that day. Many a
hearty laugh was enjoyed over it for several days, and
James was the subject of many jocose remarks ; all of
which served to keep the crew in good humour.

James enjoyed it as well as the rest of them.

At " Eleven Mile Lock," the captain ordered a change
of teams. James went on board with his mules, and the
other driver took the tow-path with his fresh mules.

" Goin' to take the mules into yer bunk with yer, as
yer did in a-swimmin' ? " remarked one of the hands.

*' Put up your team, Jim, and then come on deck,"
said the captain, addressing James ; " I want to see you."

James took good care of his mules, and went on deck.

" Jim, I hear there is some come-out to you, and if
you have no objections I would like to make up my own
mind in regard to it. It is a long ways to Pancake Lock,
and this will be a good time ; so I should like to ask you
a few questions."

" Proceed," answered James ; " but be sure and not
ask too hard ones."

" You see, I've kept school some in the backwoods of
Steuben County, Indiana," added the captain.

"Schoolmaster and captain," repeated James.
" Honour enough for one family. What did you teach .? "

"Redin', writin', spellin', gography, 'rithmetic, and
grammer."

"Go ahead, then," continued James, "and examine
me in these branches. I'll answer the best I know."

The captain proceeded with his questions, first in
arithmetic, then in geography and grammar, and James
answered every question promptly.

"You are a trump, Jim; I've heard a good deal
about your talents, and I wanted to see whether it was
so, or not. You'll not shame your relations ; I'll own

152 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

ye for cousin," remarked the captain, discontinuing his
questions.

"Now, s'pose I put a few questions to you," said
James ; " it's a poor rule that won't work both ways."

*' As many as you choose," answered the captain.

The captain could not answer the first question that
James put, nor the second, nor third ; nor, indeed, any
of them. James had studied all the branches named
far more thoroughly than the captain, so that "hard
questions " were at his command. He intended to con-
found the captain, and he did.

" If you'll let me alone, I'll let you alone," remarked
the captain, after several ineffectual attempts to answer
James' question.

The captain did not know so much as he thought
he did. Because he had taught school in Indiana, and
studied arithmetic, grammar, and geography, he thought
he was superior even to James, of whom he had heard
large stories. A few years ago he spoke of the matter
to a friend, and said, " I was just green enough in those
days to think that I knew it all. You see, I had been
teacher for three years in the backwoods of Steuben
County, Indiana." That over-estimate of himself put
him into an awkward position before James. At the
close of the interview, the captain said, seriously, —

" Jim, you've too good a head on you to be a wood-
chopper, or a canal-driver."

" Do you really think so ? " asked James.

"Yes, I do, honest."

" What would you have me do .? "

" Teach school. Go to school one or two terms, and
then you will be qualified to teach a common school ;
and after that you can make anything you have a mind
to out of yourself."

A CANAL BOY, iS3

" That is more easily said than done," answered James.
'* What do you think of my goin' to sea ? "

" I don't think much of it, to tell you the truth, Jim.
It's a terrible hard, rough life, and it's a pity to throw
away your talents on the deck of a ship. Never do any
such thing, Jim. That's my advice."

" But I don't intend to serve all my days, if I become
a sailor," said James ; " I intend to command."

" Command or serve, it will be all the same to you,
Jim. You will be greater than the business, any way,
and that's unfortunate for any one. It won't help the
matter any to be called Captain Garfield."

** You don't know what a longing I have for life on the
ocean," added James. " For ever so long I have been
thinking of the matter; but mother never gave her
consent till lately, and then only to ship on Lake Erie,"

"There's where your mother is right. She knows
your abilities, and wants you should follow what your
abilities fit you to become. I shouldn't think she would
ever consent to such a wild project as your goin' to sea.
To be a sailor, when you might be a teacher or governor,
is the most foolish thing in the world."

"Now, captain," replied James, as if doubting his
sincerity, " do you really think that my talents promise
any such result as that ? "

" Certainly I do ; I shouldn't say it if I didn't think
so. I would go to school in the autumn, and teach
school next winter, if I were in your place. You'll earn
money enough this summer, nearly, to pay your way."

The conversation ceased ; but James' thoughts ran on.
He began to wonder whether he was such a fool as would
appear from the captain's remarks. It was quite evident
that Captain Letcher had set him to thinking in the
right direction. If he did possess talents for some high

154 FROM LOG-CABm TO WHITE HOUSE.

position, he was a fool, surely, to throw them away for
nothing. He began to see it in that light. What his
cousin had said tallied very well with what several other
people had told him, and he began to think that all of
them could not be wrong. "In the mouth of two or
three witnesses, every word shall be established."

XIII.

TRIUMPHS ON THE TOW-PATH.

The boat was nearing the twenty-one locks of Akron.

" Make the first lock ready," cried the captain to Ins
bowman. It was ten o'clock at night.

*' Ay ! " answered the bowman, promptly.

As the bowman approached the lock, a voice came
through the darkness from the bowman of another
boat, —

" Don't turn this lock ; our boat is just around the
bend, ready to enter."

" I will turn it ; we got here first," answered the bow-
man of the Evening Star^ with an oath that seemed
blacker in the absence of the sun.

" You won't turn it unless you are stronger than we
are," shouted bowman number one, adding sufficient
profanity to match the vocabulary of the other.

A fight was imminent, as all hands on board saw, and
they rallied for the fracas. Such scenes were common
on the canal. The boat whose bowman reached the
lock first was entitled to enter first, but when two bow-
men reached the lock about the same time a dispute
was about sure to arise, the result of which was a hand-
to-hand fight between the two crews. The boat's crew
that came to the top of the pile won the lock. Captains
were usually powerless to prevent these contests, how*
ever well disposed they might be.

Captain Letcher's bowman commenced turning the

156 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

gate just as the two boats came up so near that their
head-lights shed the brightness of day on the exciting
scene.

" Say, bowman," called Captain Letcher, motioning
with his hand for attention. His bowman looked up in
response.

" Was you here first ? " Evidently the captain ques-
tioned his right to the lock.

" It's hard to tell," replied the bowman ; " but we're
goin' to have the lock, anyhow ; " and the ring of his
voice showed determination and fight.

" All right ; just as you say," answered the captain,
supposing that no interference of his could prevent an
encounter.

The men stood panting for the fray, like war-horses.
They seemed to be in just the right mood for a contest.
It was a new scene to James, and he stood wondering,
with the loud oaths bandied falling on his ear. After
having restrained himself as long as he could, he tapped
the captain on his shoulder, saying, —

" See here, captain, does that lock belong to us } "

" I really suppose, according to law, it does not ; but
we'll have it, anyhow," was the captain's reply.

" No, we will not," answered James, with a good deal
of determination.

" Why not } " asked the captain, very much surprised
at the boy's interference.

" Because it does not belong to us."

" That's so," the captain replied, seeing at once that
James was right.

Probably the captain had never stopped to think
whether the custom of fighting for a lock was right or
not. But the suggestion of James seemed to act as an
inspiration on him, and he called out to his bowman, —

TRIUMPHS ON THE TOW-PATH 15)

" Hold on ! hold on, boys ! "

The men looked up iij surprise, as if wondering what
had happened. One "minute more, and some hard
knocks would have been given.

" Hold on ! " repeated the captain, in the loudest
tone of authority that he could command. " Let them

HAVE THE LOCK."

The order was obeyed ; the free fight was prevented ;
the other boat entered the lock ; " peace reigned in
Warsaw." James commanded the situation. His prin-
ciples prevailed.

The boat was all night getting through the twenty-
one locks, but at sunrise was on Lake Summit, moving
forward under as bright a day-dawning as ever silvered
the waters. The mules were moving on a slow trot,
under the crack of the driver's whip, and everything was
hopeful. Breakfast was called. George Lee, the steers-
man, came out and sat down to the table, and the first
word he spoke was, —

"Jim, what's the matter with ye ? "

*' Nothing; I never felt better in my life," replied James.

** What did you give up the lock for last night ? "

" Because it didn't belong to us." ^

"Jim," continued Lee, in a tone of bitterness, accom-
panied with his usual profanity, " yer are a coward ; yer
ain't fit to be a boatman. Yer may do to chop wood or
milk cows, but a man or a boy isn't fit for a boat who
won't fight for his rights."

James only smiled at his fellow-boatman, and went
on with his breakfast, making no reply. The captain
heard the remarks, and admired the more the courage,
coolness, and principle of his boy-driver. He saw that
there was a magnanimous soul under that dirty shirt,
and he enjoyed the evidence of its reign.

158 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

The boat reached Beaver, and a steamer was about
to tow her up to Pittsburg, when the following incident
occurred, just as the captain describes it :

" James was standing on deck, with the setting-pole
against his shoulders, and several feet away stood
Murphy, one of the boat hands, a big, burly fellow of
thirty-five, when the steamboat threw the line, and,
owing to a sudden lurch of the boat, it whirled over the
boy's shoulders, and flew in the direction of the boat-
man."

*' Look out. Murphy ! " shouted James ; but the rope
had anticipated him, and knocked Murphy's hat off into
the river.

*' It was an accident. Murphy," exclaimed James, by
way of excuse ; " I'm very sorry."

" I'll make yer sorry," bellowed Murphy, thoroughly
mad, and like a reckless bull he plunged at James, with
his head down, thinking to knock him over, perhaps,
into the water, where his hat had gone ; but James
stepped nimbly aside, and dealt him a heavy blow
behind the ear, tumbling him to the bottom of the
boat, among the copper ore. Thinking to bring hostil-
ities to a sudden close, he leaped upon Murphy, and
held him down.

*' Pound the fool, Jim," cried the captain. But James
had him fast in his grip, so that the fellow could not
harm him, and he refused to strike. He only said, —

** I have him, now."

" If he hain't no more sense 'n to get mad at acci-
dents, giv it ter him. Why don't yer strike } "

** Because he's down, and in my power," answered the
noble boy. He never would have it said that he strucl*
a man save in self-defence ; and it is not self-defence to
strike a man when he can be restrained without strikinsr

TRIUMPHS ON THE TOW-PATH, 159

** Got enough, Murphy ? You can get up when you
have," said James to his conquered antagonist.

"Yis, 'nuff," answered Murphy. James rose, and
allowed his assailant to rise also ; then, extending his
hand, in the magnanimous spirit of a victor, he said, —

" Murphy, give us your hand."

And they shook hands, and were fast friends there-
after. From that time James moved among the crew,
not as a greenhorn and coward, but as a boy- man, — a
boy in age, but a man in action ; a boy in physical
appearance, but a man in convictions and generous
spirit.

Among the boatmen was one Harry Brown, a good-
hearted, rough, dissipated fellow, who had a strong
liking for James, and would do almost anything for him.
Harry was impetuous, and whisky often increased his
impetuosity, so that he was frequently in trouble.

" Look here, Harry, it's a little rough for you to be in
rows so often ; let whisky alone, and you'll not be in
trouble half so much," said James to him, in a kind way.
If any one else on board had said that, Harry would
have resented it, and told him to " mind his own busi-
ness." But he pleasantly said to James, —

" That's so, Jim ; I'd giv' a pile to be like yer."

" Yoti can be, if you are a mind to," replied James.
** Whisky is the last stuff I should think of drinking,
Harry ; sooner drink the dirty water in this canal."

"Yer are a trump, Jim."

"I'm just what I am," replied James, "and you don't
begin to be what you might be, Harry. Your generous
soul could make sunshine all about you, only break
your bottle."

This compliment tickled Harry in the right place, and
he concluded that James was rehearsing more truth than

i6o FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

poetry. James saw that he held the key to the rough
boatman's heart, and he proceeded :

f' I don't see why boatmen can't be as decent as other
people, but they are not. They are about the hardest
set I ever saw — drinking, swearing, bragging, fighting.
Isn't it so, Harry } "

"Yer about right, Jim," Harry answered, with a
comical shrug of his shoulders.

" If I was captain of a boat, I would have a new order
of things, or fling up my commission," James continued.

" I'll bet yer, Jim ; we'd all behave well to please
yer," interrupted Harry, acquiescing in the supposition.

" Well, now, Harry, don't you think yourself that it
would be a great improvement, on canal boats, to give
whisky a wide berth t "

** True as preachin', Jim."

" And yet you continue to make yourself a disgrace
to your sex, and are in hot water half your time. Isn't
it so, Harry } "

Harry shook his sides over James' plainness of speech,
and admitted that the boy was right.

" I hate this beastly way of living," continued James,
" and I don't see why a fellow should act like a brute,
when he is a man. I don't believe that you respect
yourself, Harry."

" Right again ! " shouted Harry. *' Yer see, if I did
'spect myself, I shouldn't do as I do. That's the trouble,
— I have no 'spect for myself** And the poor, weak
fellow never spoke a plainer truth in his life. Proper
self-respect will lead such devotees of vice to reform,
and be men.

*' Yer see, Jim," added Harry, "■ I couldn't be like yer
if I tried."

" That's bosh," replied James. "Just as if a man can't

TRIUMPHS ON THE TOW-PATH. i6i

be decent when he '-tries ! You can't make that go,
Harry. Throw whisky and tobacco overboard, as
Murphy's hat went, and the thing is done."

" So you'd take all a feller's comforts away, Jim,
t'backer and all," interposed Harry.

" Yes ; and this awful profanity that I hear also,"
retorted James. " I would make a clean sweep of the
wholef thing. What good does it all do ? "

" What good ! humph ! " exclaimed Harry. " Yer
are not fool 'nough to think we 'spect to do good in this
way ! " And Harry laughed again heartily, admitting
the truth of James' position, without proposing to defend
himself

" What do you do it for, then } "

"Doit/^r/ don't do it for nothin', Jim," responded
Harry. " Nary good or evil we are after."

" You're a bigger fool than I thought you were," added
James. "Making a brute of yourself for nothing. If
that isn't being a fool, then I don't know what a fool
is."

Harry laughed more loudly than ever, as he turned
away, accepting the advice of James in the same spirit
in which it was tendered. That he was not at all offended
is evident from the fact that he was heard to say to
Murphy afterwards, —

"Jim is a great feller. I've an orful itchin' to see
what sort of a man he'll make. The way he rakes me
down on whisky, t'backer, and swearing, is a caution ;
and he don't say a word that ain't true ; that's the
trouble. And he says it in sich a way, that yer knows
he means it. Jist think. Murphy; a boy on this old
canal as don't drink rum, or smoke, or chew, or swear,
or fight, — would yer believe it, if yer didn't see it } "

Murphy acknowledged that it was an anomaly on the

M

1 62 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal, and hinted that he should
like to know where the " feller " came from.

" I like him, though, Murphy," Harry continued. " I
allers liked a man to show his colours. I like to know
where a feller is, if he be agin me. And Jim is so cute ;
he'll beat the whole crowd on us tellin' stories, only they
are not nasty, like the rest on us tell. Isn't he a deep
one ? He knows more'n all the crew put together, and
two or three more boat-loads added, into the bargain."

James had fairly established himself in the respect and
confidence, not only of the sober and intelligent captain,
but of the drunken, ignorant crew as well. On the
whole, they were proud of him. Said the steersman to
the bowman of another boat, " We've got a feller in our
crew just the biggest trump yer ever see. Nary drinks
whisky, smokes, chews, swears, or fights, — d'ye believe
it, old feller } " and he slapped the bowman on the back
as he said it.

" Where'd he cum from } " the bowman inquired.

" That's what we'd like ter know, yer see ; where he
cum from, and how he happened to cum," responded the
steersman. " But he's a jolly good feller, strong as a
lion, could lick any on us if he's a mind to ; and he's a
pealer for work, too ; ain't afraid to dirty hisself ; and
buckles right down to bisness, he does, jist like any on
us. I never seed just such a boy."

That the captain was won by the amount and quality
of James' work, as well as by the reliability of his char-
acter, is evident from the fact that he promoted him to
bowman at the end of his first trip. We mistrust that,
in addition to the captain's confidence in his ability for
the position, that he exercised military tactics in the
appointment, and concluded that it would put an end
to brutal fights for the possession of locks.

TRIUMPHS ON THE TOW PATH, 163

By the confession of captain and crew, most of whom
are still alive, James was a successful peacemaker on the
canal boat, and his influence elevated the rough boat-
men to some extent. He did it, too, without making
an enemy, but real friends of all. His forte lay in that
direction.

The testimony of the captain is, that James did every-
thing thoroughly as well as promptly ; that he was as
conscientious as he was resolute, declining to participate
in any project that he considered wrong ; that he pos-
sessed remarkable tact in his business as well as in
dealing with men ; and that he was a model boy in every
respect, — " not talkative, but very intelligent ; and when
drawn into conversation, he surprised us by the depth of
his knowledge on the topics of the day."

On the canal boat James had no books to read ; and
this was a serious privation. Occasionally, the captain
had an opportunity to purchase newspapers, and these
James read through and through. The captain thinks,
however, that the absence of reading-matter was fully
made up to him by the opportunity and demand for the
exercise of his observation. He studied men and business,
and asked a multitude of questions. Patrick Henry
once said that he owed his success to " studying men
more than books." Garfield studied men more than
books, and the captain aided him materially by answer-
ing his questions. Perhaps it was an advantage for him,
in the circumstances, to be where no books could be had
for love or money.

James appeared to possess a singular affinity for the
water. He fell into the water fourteen times during
the two or three months he served on the canal boat.
It was not because he was so clumsy that he could
not keep right side up, nor because he did not under-

i64 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

stand the business ; rather, we think, it arose from his
thorough devotion to his work. He gave more attention
to the labour in hand than he did to his own safety. He
was one who never thought of himself when he was
serving another. He thought only of what he had in
hand to do. His application was intense, and his per-
severance royal.

The last time he fell into the water he came near losing
his life. It was on one very rainy night, when he was
called up to take his turn at the bow. The boat was
just leaving one of those long reaches of slack-water
which abound in the Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal.
James was awaked out of a very sound sleep, and he
responded with his eyes half open, scarcely comprehend-
ing as yet the situation, and took his stand upon the
platform below the bow-deck. He began to uncoil a
rope to steady the boat through a lock it was approach-
ing. The rope caught somehow on the edge of the
deck, and resisted several pulls that he made to extricate
it. At last it yielded, but, in the rebound, sent him
headlong over the bow into the water. It was a very
dark night, and he went down into the water, which was
blacker than the night. In the meanwhile the boat was
sweeping on, and no mortal knew of his mishap, and not
a helping hand was near. Death seemed inevitable.
Fortunately his hand seized the rope in the darkness, by
accident, men will say, but by providential guir'-^^'^e
really, and he drew himself, hand over hand, upon vicck.
He saw that he had been saved as by a miracle. The
rope would have been of no service to him, only it caught
in a crevice on the edge of the deck and held fast. He
stood there dripping in his wet clothes, his thoughts
running thus :

" What saved me that time } It must have been God.

TRIUMPHS ON THE TOW-PATH. 165

I could not have saved myself. Just a kink in the rope
catching in that crevice saved me, nothing else. That
was almost miraculous, and God does miraculous things.
He thinks my life is worth saving, and I ought not to
throw it away on a sea-faring life, and I won't. I will
renounce all such ideas and get an education."

During the time that he was thus reflecting, he was
trying to throw the rope so that it would catch in the
crevice. Again and again he coiled the rope and threw
it ; but it would neither kink nor catch. Repeated trials
satisfied him that supernatural causes put the kinked
rope into his hand, and saved his life.

That accident made a very deep impression upon his
mind. His thoughts more than ever turned to his home
and praying mother. He knew that every day his dear
mother remembered him at the throne of grace. He
had no more doubt of it than he had of his existence.
" Was it her prayers } " He could not evade the inquiry.
He thought of all her anxieties and wise counsels, and
her undying love. " Such a mother ! " The thought
would force itself uppermost in spite of himself. He felt
rebuked, although he had been a good, obedient son.
He had not been tender enough of his mother's feelings ;
he would be in future. He would quit the canal boat
for ever.

It was but a few weeks after the last immersion before
Jan^s was quite severely attacked by ague, a disease
tL, '.^prevailed somewhat in that region. It prostrated
him to such a degree that he was unfitted for labour ;
and this offered a favourable opportunity for him to
carry out the resolution of that night of disaster.

" I must go home, captain," said James.

" It's a wise conclusion, Jim. You are too unwell for
work, and there's no place like home for sick folks. I

i66 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

don't want to part with you, and the men will be sorry
to have you go ; but I think you'd better go."

" I regret to leave your service, captain, for I've enjoyed
it ; but I've been thinking of your advice, and I guess I
shall put it in practice."

"You can't do a wiser thing, Jim; and I wouldn't
lose a day about it. As soon as you are able, I'd go to
studying, if I was in your place."

The captain settled with James, paying him at the
rate of twelve dollars a month while he was driver, and
eighteen dollars a month while he was bowman ; and
James started for home.

James was never so melancholy in his life as he was
on the way home. The ague had taken his strength
away, and made him almost as limp as a child. Then,
he was thinking more of his duties, and his good mother.
He had not written to her in his absence, between two
and three months, and he rather rebuked himself for the
neglect. "True," he thought, "I have been on the wing
all of the time, and there has been little opportunity for
writing ; '* and so he partially excused himself for the
neglect. His mother supposed that he was serving on
a schooner somewhere on Lake Erie. He ought to have
informed her of his whereabouts. So his thoughts were
busy during his lonely journey home. It was nearly
dark when he left the boat, so that he did not reach
home until eleven o'clock at night.

As he drew near the house, he could see the light of
the fire through the window. His heart beat quick and
strong ; he knew that it would be a glad surprise to his
mother. Looking in at the window, he beheld her
kneeling in the corner, with a book open in the chair
before her. Was she reading ? He looked again : her
eyes were turned heavenward ; she was praying. He

TRIUMPHS ON THE TOW-PATH, 167

listened, and he distinctly heard, " Oh, turn unto me,
and have mercy upon me! Give Thy strength unto
Thy servant, and save the son of Thine handmaid ! "
That was enough ; he waited to hear no more. Mother
and son were united again in loving embrace ; and the
tears that were shed were tears of joy.

XTV.
THE TURNING-POINT.

•* Why, James ! " exclaimed his mother, when the ex-
citement of their meeting was over, " you look sick."

" I am sick ; and that's the reason I came home. It's
been a very hard walk for me, I am so weak."

" How long have you been sick?" inquired his mother,
with much anxiety.

" Not long. I've got the ague ; had it a week or
more."

" The ague ! " answered his mother, astonished ; " I
didn't know that they ever had the ague on a ship."

" I have not been on a ship, but on the canal."

" On the canal ! " rejoined his mother, still more
surprised. " I thought you was on the lake all this
time. How did it happen that you was on the canal } "

James rehearsed his experience on the schooner that
he boarded, especially narrating his encounter with the
captain, and his haste to escape from such a demon ;
how he met his cousin, Amos Letcher, of the canal-
boat Evening Star, and bargained with him for the
position of driver, not omitting his hair-breadth escapes
on the boat ; concluding by a description of the ex-
posures of the business, in consequence of which he was
attacked by the ague.

His mother listened to the narration, which was more
interesting to her than a novel, remarking at the close
of it,—

x68

rHE TURNING-POINT. 169

"God has wonderfully preserved you, and brought you
back, in answer to my prayers."

James was too full to make much reply. He managed,
however, to say, " Nobody saved me from drowning,
that dark night, but God." This brief remark sent a
thrill of pleasure through his mother's heart. With all
his obedience and excellence of character, James had
not given before so much evidence as this that he recog-
nised his personal obligations to God. His mother con-
strued it into genuine religious conviction, and she was
rejoiced beyond measure by the revelation.

"You must say no more to-night; you must goto
bed, and get some rest," added his mother. " In the
morning I will see how, and what can be done for you."

Both retired ; his mother to a restless bed, being too
full of joy and grateful thoughts to sleep. She lived
over her whole life again, during that night, with all its
checkered scenes ; and she penetrated the future, in
imagination, and beheld her dear boy dignifying his
manhood by an honourable and useful career. "If he
could only become a preacher ! " The thought grew
upon her in the " night watches." It became a source
of real delight to her ; and she thanked God, again and
again, for His goodness. She found more enjoyment in
wakefulness and her thoughts, on that night, than she
could have had in the sweetest sleep. It was the silent
communings of a truly Christian heart.

Very early in the morning Mrs. Garfield was at the
bedside of her son, anxious to learn how he was. He
was in a sound sleep. She waited until the sunlight was
bathing his brow, when she entered his room again. Her
presence awoke him.

" You've had a sweet sleep^ James," she said, in-
quiringly.

170 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

" The best sleep I've had for a week," James answered.
" I was dreadful tired last night. I feel better this
morning."

The ague is a fitful disease, and attacks its victims
periodically, leaving them comparatively comfortable
and strong on some days. James was really very com-
fortable on that morning, — there was no visible appear-
ance of the ague upon him, — and he proposed to get up,
dress himself, and look about the home that seemed
more pleasant to him than ever. Returning to the
kitchen, Mrs. Garfield prepared some simple remedy for
him, such as pioneers were wont to administer to ague-
patients. Pioneers were more or less familiar with the
disease, and understood somewhat how to manage it.
In severe cases a physician was called in to administer
calomel — that was considered a specific at that time—
until salivation was produced.

James was not comfortable long. On the following
day a violent attack of the disease prostrated him com-
pletely.

" There's a hard bunch on my left side, and pain," said
James to his mother.

"That's the ague-cake," replied his mother, on ex-
amining the spot. " That always appears in severe
cases." The name was given by pioneers to the hard-
ness ; perhaps physicians called it by some other name.

" You are pretty sick, my son," continued Mrs. Gar-
field, " and I think you must have the doctor. Don't
you think you better have the doctor ? "

" Perhaps so ; just as you think about it," was James*
reply.

The physician of a neighbouring village was sent fcr ;
and he put the patient through the usual calomel treat-
ment, salivating him, and really causing him to suffer

THE TURNING-POINT, 171

more by the remedy than by the disease. For weeks
the big, strong boy lay almost as weak and helpless as
a child. It was a new and rough experience for James.
It was the first sickness he ever had ; and to lie in bed
and toss with fever, and shake with ague, by turns, was
harder for him than chopping wood or planing boards.
But for the wise management and tender care of his
mother, his experience would have been much more
trying yet.

" How fortunate it was, James, that you came home
when you did," remarked his mother.

" It was so, though I should have come home before
long, if I had been well," replied James.

" Then you thought of giving up work on the canal ? "
continued Mrs. Garfield.

" Yes ; I got about enough of it. Amos told me that
I was a fool to follow such business when I am capable
of something better," replied James, dropping just a
word concerning his interview with Captain Letcher.

" I should agree with Amos on that," remarked his
mother, smiling. " You knew that before."

" If God saved my Hfe on that night, I didn't know
but He saved it for something," added James ; another
indication of higher aspirations, that gratified his mother
very mucL

" If God did not save your life, it would be hard
telling who did," responded Mrs. Garfield. "None of us
should be blind to the lessons of His providence. It's
my opinion that the Lord didn't mean you should go to
sea, and so he headed you off by that monster of a
captain."

" Perhaps so," James answered, in a tone that might
indicate either indifference or weakness.

" If God answers my prayers, James, you'll get an

172 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

education, and be a teacher or preacher. My cup will
run over when I see you in such a position."

" What if I should be a lawyer," remarked James.

"Well, I shall not object to that, if you are a good
man. A wicked lawyer is almost as bad as a sailor.
Above all things I want you should feel that the Lord
has the first claim upon your love and service. Don't
you ever think, James, that you ought to give your
heart to Him, and try for a more useful life ? "

This question was unexpected to James, at the time,
although such interrogations had often been put to him
formerly. Indeed, the inquiry that Mrs. Garfield put
was unexpected to herself, for she did not intend to put
such a question when the conversation began. She
expected to come to it sometime, however. She was
feeling her way along, and leading her boy as best she
could; yet, James answered, —

" I've thought more about it lately."

"I hope you will continue to think about it, my son.
It is the greatest thing you can think about. If you
will only consecrate your powers to God, I know that
you will make the best possible use of them; and you
won't make such use of them unless you do that."

Mrs. Garfield was very discreet, and thought it not
best to press the matter too persistently, but leave James
to his own reflections. She was confident that the Lord
had taken him in hand, and was leading him in a way
the son knew not. She was greatly encouraged, and her
prayers were more earnest than ever for his conversion
to Christ.

The weeks dragged heavily along, and winter set in.
James was still sick, but convalescent. A few weeks
more, according to his improved symptoms, and he would
be well enough for business, or school.

Tim TURNING-POINT. 173

The winter school near Mrs. Garfield's began the first
week in December, and it was taught by a young man
by the name of Samuel D. Bates. He was a young
man of ability, a very earnest Christian, looking forward
to the ministry in connection with the Disciples' Church.
He was, also, an energetic, working young man, possess-
ing large common sense, and intensely interested in
benefiting the young people, intellectually and spiritu-
ally. From the commencement of the school he was
very popular, too.

Mrs. Garfield made his acquaintance, and at once
concluded that he was just the person to influence
James to aspire to an education. She could not help
him herself, but her faith that God would open the way
for him to go to school was unfaltering. She improved
the first opportunity to tell Mr. Bates about James, —
his sickness, frame of mind, and aspirations. She
frankly announced to him that she wanted he should
bring all his influence upon James to induce him to
strive for an education. The teacher readily consented,
for that was a kind of business in which he delighted,
to help young men onward and upward. His first call
upon James was immediate, though he did not announce
the real object he had in view, thinking it would not be
wise.

"Mr. Bates is a very interesting man, James," re-
marked Mrs. Garfield, after the teacher left. " I don't
wonder the scholars like him."

" I like him very much," replied James. " I hope he
will come in here often. I wish I was able to go to
school to him."

" I wish you could ; but Providence orders otherwise,
and it will be all for the best, I have no doubt. Mr.
Bates is working his way into the ministry. He teaches

174 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

school in order to earn money to pay his bills. That is
what you could do. If you could go to school a few
months, you could teach school next winter, and, in that
way, earn money for further schooling."

"I don't know as I should be contented in that
occupation," responded James. "Once in a while,
mother, I have a strong desire to go to sea again.
There is something about the water that fascinates me.
The sight of a ship fills my eye ; indeed, the thought of
a ship awakens a strong desire within, to tread its deck
and handle its ropes."

" But you are not disposed to return to the canal, or
to follow a sea-faring life } " inquired his mother, sur-
prised at his frank avowal. She had begun to think
that he had abandoned all thoughts of the sea.

" I should like it if I thought it was best," he an-
swered.

" It is not best, James ; I can see that plainly."

" Since I have got better, my desire for the sea has
returned, in a measure," added James, "causing me to
ask myself if I shall not be disappointed if I abandon
the purpose altogether."

" Not at all," responded Mrs. Garfield. " When you
once get engaged in study, you will like it far better
than you can the sea, I am sure ; and teaching school is
a business that will bring you both money and respect.
I think we can manage to scrape together money
enough for you to start with."

" I will think it over," added James ; " I shan't decide
in a hurry."

" If you work on the canal, or become a sailor on the
lake, you will have work only part of the year," con-
tinued his mother. "You will find little to do in the
winter. How much better it will be for you to go to

THE TURNING-POINT, 175

school, and qualify yourself for a teacher! Then you
can sail in the summer, and teach school in the winter."

Mrs. Garfield feared that a total abandonment of the
idea of going to sea would be quite impossible for
James at present ; and so her policy was to lure him
into the way of knowledge by degrees. She suggested
sailing in summer, and teaching in winter, hoping, that
when he had qualified himself to teach, he would be so
much in love with books as to banish all thoughts of a
ship.

There was a sort of mystery in James' strong desire
for a sea-faring life, to his mother. And yet there was
no mystery about it. Many are born with an adventu-
rous, daring spirit, which the reading of a book may set
strongly in a given direction. There is no doubt that
the books James read at the black-salter's were the
spark that kindled his adventurous spirit into a flame.
We have seen a sailor who enjoys life on the ocean with
the keenest relish, and his attention was first turned in
that direction by a book presented to him by his uncle.

It is related of a traveller, that he sought lodgings one
night at a farmhouse in Vermont. He found an aged
couple, well-to-do in this world's goods, living there
alone. In the course of the evening he learned that
they had three sons following the sea. It was an inex-
plicable affair to them, that their sons, living far away
from the sea, should have so strong a desire to be
sailors, from boyhood. One after the other, when they
attained the age of twelve or fifteen, an almost incon-
trollable desire for the sea had taken possession of them.
In each case, too, the parents gave their consent to
entering upon a sea-faring life not until they feared the
sons would go without it. While the father was rehears-
ing the story of their lives, the traveller was observing

176 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

a painting on the ceiling, over the mantel-piece. It ^*as
an ocean scene, — a ship sailing over a tranquil sea,—
painted after the manner of the olden times. When the
father ceased his remarks, the traveller said, —

" There is the cause of your sons' sailor-life (pointing
to the painting). From infancy they have had that
painting before their eyes, and it has educated them for
the sea. In the earliest years, when their hearts were
most impressible, that ocean scene set them in that
direction ; and finally their hearts were made to burn
with unconquerable desire."

This explanation was perfectly satisfactory to the
aged couple, and, no doubt, it was the correct one. The
fact shows that there is no mystery about such a love
for the ocean as James possessed. Such a fervent
nature as his would readily be ignited by a random
spark from a glowing book or a glowing speech. Nor
has he ever outgrown this delight in the sea. Although
more than thirty years have elapsed since his conflict
with the ague, he said recently, "The sight of a ship
fills me with a strange fascination. When upon the
water, and my fellow-men are suffering sea-sickness, I
am as tranquil as when walking the land in serenest
weather. The spell of ' Jack Halyard ' has not yet
worn off."

Mr. Bates continued his calls at the Garfield's, always
aiming to draw out James in respect to his religious
convictions, and his plans for the future. All these
interviews were very profitable to James. His mother
saw clearly, that in the skilful hands of the teacher he
was being moulded, and her heart rejoiced. She was
satisfied that he was making progress in religious pur-
pose. He was frank to confess his need of Divine
grace, and renewing, and to express a purpose to be-

THE TURNING-POINT. 177

come a Christian. At the last interview which we have
space to notice, Mr. Bates brought him to a final de-
cision.

" Look here, young man," he said ; " the difference
between a scholar and sailor is the difference between
somebody and nobody." And he rung the changes
on the words SCHOLAR and SAILOR, until the latter
appeared almost beneath the notice.

" Go to school with me at Chester on the first week
in March," said Mr. Bates. " Settle that first, that you
will go with me to school at that time. That will be
the first step, and the most important."

"I will go," answered James, unexpectedly at that
moment to his mother. He said it with emphasis, indi-
cating that the matter was settled.

" That's business," continued Mr. Bates. " I have no
concern about the details, as to how you will raise
money to pay your way, or whether you will have to
relinquish the attempt to acquire an education after you
have begun your studies. All these things will come
right at the time, and the way will be provided. You
have said, ^ I will go '^ and that commits you to the great
purpose of your life. It is the turning-point of your
career. You have set your face towards * Geauga
Seminary,' and I have no idea that you will look back,
or hanker for a ship, or do any other unmanly thing. I
consider that the turning-point of my life was when I
finally decided to be educated for the ministry ; and
from that moment I have felt it was the great decision
of my life."

These words exerted a profound influence upon
James, and that influence deepened from year to year,
as he grew older. Years afterwards, as we have seen,
when addressing an audience of young men, he bore

N

178 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

strongly upon this point, and said, " It is a great point
gained when a young man makes up his mind to devote
several years to the accomplishment of a definite work."

A mother's prayers and love had triumphed. Was
she not a happy woman ?

" I have a little money, and I know where I can get
a little more, and that will be enough to start on," his
mother remarked.

** I can find work to do out of school, and on Satur-
days, when school don't keep, and so earn money to pay
my way," responded James.

" Yes, I've no doubt of it. You know that Mr. Bates
said all these things would come around right when you
had decided to go," remarked Mrs. Garfield.

" I mean to see if William and Henry will not go,
too ; we can room together," continued James. These
were his two cousins, who lived close by, sons of his
uncle, Amos Boynton. They were members of his
Spelling Club a few years before, when, together, they
mastered Noah Webster's Spelling Book.

** That will be a good idea, James ; and I think they
will go," responded his mother, encouragingly. " There
is no reason why they should not go."

It was only three weeks before the school at Chester
would begin. James announced to his cousins that he
had resolved to attend Geauga Seminary, and wanted
they should go, too. The subject was discussed in the
family for a week ; Mr. Bates was consulted, and was glad
to influence two other boys to take so wise a step ; and
finally it was settled that William and Henry should go
with James.

While matters were progressing thus favourably, James
heard that Dr. J. P. Robinson, of Bedford, was com-
ing into the neighbourhood on a professional ' visit, and.

THE TURNING-POINT, 179

Without advising with any one, he resolved to consult him
concerning the practicability of his decision to acquire
an education. It was not because he was wavering at
all, but it was more of curiosity on his part. So he
called upon the doctor after his arrival at the neigh-
bour's, and the interview, as narrated by Dr. Robinson
to a writer, recently, was as follows :

" He was rather shabbily clad, in coarse satinet
trousers, far outgrown, and reaching only half-way down
the tops of his cowhide boots ; a waistcoat much too
short, and a threadbare coat whose sleeves went only a
little below the elbows. Surmounting the whole was a
coarse slouched hat, much the worse for wear ; and as
the lad removed it, in making his obeisance to the
physician, he displayed a heavy shock of unkempt yel-
low hair that fell half-way down his shoulders.

" ' He was wonderfully awkward,' says the good doc-
tor, *but had a sort 'of independent, go-as-you-please
manner, that impressed me favourably.'

*''Who are you.!*' ^vas his somewhat gruff salutation.

" * My name is James Garfield, from Orange,' replied
the latter.

" ' Oh, I know your mother, and knew you when you
were a babe in arms ; but you have outgrown my know-
ledge. I am glad to see you.*

" * I want to see you alone,' said young Garfield.

" The doctor led the way to a secluded spot in the
neighbourhood of the house, and there, sitting down on
a log, the youth, after a little hesitation, opened his
business.

" ' You are a physician,' he said, ' and know the fibre
that is in men. Examine me, and tell me with the
utmost frankness whether I had better take a course of
liberal study. I am contemplating doing so ; my desire

iSo FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

is in that direction. But if I am to make a failure ol
it, or practically so, I do not desire to begin. If you
advise me not to do so, I shall feel content.'

"In speaking of this incident, the doctor has re-
marked, recently : * I felt that I was on my sacred
honour, and the young man looked as though he felt
himself on trial. I had had considerable experience as
a physician, but here was a case much different from
any other I had ever had. I felt that it must be handled
with great care. I examined his head, and saw that
there was a magnificent brain there. I sounded his
lungs, and found that they were strong, and capable of
making good blood. I felt his pulse, and saw that there
was an engine capable of sending the blood up to the
head to feed the brain. I had seen many strong
physical systems with warm feet, but cold, sluggish
brain ; and those who possessed such systems would
simply sit around and doze. Therefore. I was anxious
to know about the kind of an engine to run that delicate
machine, the brain. At the end of a fifteen-minutes'
careful examination of this kind, we rose, and I said,
" Go on, follow the leadings of your ambition, and ever
after I am your friend. You have the brain of a
Webster, and you have the physical proportions that
will back you in the most herculean efforts. All you
need to do is to work. Work hard, do not be afraid of
overworking, and you will make your mark." ' "

" I wish you had a better suit of clothes, James," re-
marked his mother, " but we shall have to make these
do, I guess." It was the same suit he had on when he
called upon Dr. Robinson. Indeed, he possessed no
other. The trousers were nearly out at the knees, but
under the skilful hand of Ais mother they were made
almost as good as new.

THE TURNING-POINT. l8i

" Good enough, any way," said James, in reply to his
mother's wish. It was fortunate that he was not the
victim of a false pride : if he had been, he would not
haver consented to attend a " Seminary " in that plight.

It was settled that the boys should board themselves,
each one carrying his own outfit in utensils and pro-
visions, doing it as a matter of economy.

When Mrs. Garfield had scraped together all the
money she could for James, the amount was only about
eleven dollars.

" That will do to begin with," he remarked. " I can

XV.

GEAUGA SEMINARY.

On the fifth day of March, the day before the school
opened, James and his cousins travelled to Chester, on
foot, quite heavily loaded with cooking utensils and pro-
visions. The distance was ten miles, over roads that were
poor, indeed, at that season of the year. They carried
dippers, plates, a knife and fork each, a fry-pan, kettle,
and other things to match, with a quantity of ham, or
"bacon," as the settlers called it. James was arrayed
in the suit of clothes in which he appeared before
Dr. Robinson, and the other boys were clad about ditto.
No one would have charged them with pride, on their
way to the "Seminary." At this day, some faithful
constable would arrest such a troupe for tramps, who
had robbed a farmer's kitchen and were taking " leg-
bail." Nevertheless, they were three as jolly boys as
Cuyahoga County could boast. Their errand was nobler
and grander than that of any aspirant who was fishing
for an office in the State of Ohio. Why should they not
be jolly }

They proceeded directly to the house of the principal,
Mr. Daniel Branch, an eccentric man, though a very
respectable scholar in some departrnents.

"We've come to attend your school," said James,
addressing himself to Mr. Branch. "We came from
Orange."

"What's your name ?" inquired the principal

182

GEAUGA SEMINARY, 183

'* My name is James A. Garfield ; and these are my
cousins (turning to the boys) ; their names are WiUiam
and Henry Boynton."

" Well, I'm glad to see you, boys ; you might be en-
gaged in much worse business than this. I suppose you
are no richer than most of the scholars we have here."

The last remark of Mr. Branch is good evidence that
he had surveyed the new-comers from head to foot, and
that the remark was prompted by their poor apparel.

" No, sir," answered James, dryly ; " we are not
loaded down with gold or silver, but with pots, and
kettles, and provisions for housekeeping."

" Going to board yourselves, then," replied the teacher
by way of inquiry.

"Yes, sir ; can you tell us where we can find a room?"
answered James.

" Yes ; near by," answered Mr. Branch ; " a good deal
of that business is done here. Scores of our boys and
girls would never stay here if they could not board
themselves. Look here," and stepping out from the
door-way he pointed to an old, unpainted house, twenty
or thirty rods away. " You see that old house there, do
you.?" he said. James assented. " I think you will find
a room there ; an old lady, as poor as you are, lives in
one part of it. You will go to her to inquire."

"Thank you, sir, thank you," repeated the boys,
politely, as they started for the antique habitation.
They found the old lady, and hired a room, for a pit-
tance, in which there were a fireplace, three old chairs,
that corresponded with the building, and two beds on
the floor, or what the good woman of the house was
bold enough to call, beds. Here they unpacked their
goods, and set up housekeeping by cooking their first meal.

The "Geauga Seminary" was a Free-will Baptist

i84 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

institution, in quite a flourishing condition, having a
hundred students, of both sexes, drawn thither from the
towns in that region. The town in which it was located,
Chester, was small, but pleasant, the academy furnishing
the only attraction of the place.

School opened, and James devoted himself to gram-
mar, natural philosophy, arithmetic, and algebra. He
had never seen but one algebra before he purchased the
one he used. The principal advised him to take this
course of study.

It was a new scene for James, a school of one hundred
pupils, male and female, most of them better clad than
himself. He was awkward and bashful, especially in
the presence of young ladies, whom he regarded as far
superior to young men of the same age and attainments.
Still he broke into the routine of the school readily, and
soon was under full headway, like a new vessel with
every sail set.

Singularly enough, he encountered an unexpected
difficulty in the grammar class within a very few days.

James said, " but is a conjunction."

" Not so ; but is a verb^ and means be oiU^' replied the
teacher.

" A verb ! but a verb ? " exclaimed James, in reply,
without scarcely thinking that he was calling the
teacher's opinion in question. He had Kirkman's gram-
mar at his command, even to its preface, which he
could glibly repeat, word by word ; and he knew that
but was a conjunction, according to Kirkman, and all
the teachers whose pupil he had been. Could his
teacher be joking, or did he make a blunder ?

" Yes ; but is a verb, no matter what the books say,
young man ; whose grammar have you studied ? " the
teacher answered.

GEAUGA SEMINARY. 1S5

" Kirkman's," replied James.

" Kirkman ! and he is just like all the rest of them,
wrong from beginning to end," said Mr. Branch.
" That's not the grammar you will learn in this school,
I can tell you, by any means. I teach a grammar of my
own, the grammar of common sense."

James thought it was the grammar of nonsense,
though he did not say so. At that time he did not
know that Mr. Branch was at war with all the gram-
marians, and had introduced a system of instruction in
that study peculiarly his own.

" Besides Kirkman, all the teachers I ever have had
called but a conjunction," added James, directly imply-
ing that he did not accept Branch's grammar.

" You don't believe it, I clearly see, young man ; but
you will long before you have spent twelve weeks in
this school," remarked Mr. Branch. " You will have
sense enough to see that I am right, and the old gram-
marians wrong."

"If but is a verb, I don't see why and is not a verb
also," remarked James, being quite inclined to array
Kirkman against Branch.

" It is a verb, James ; and is a verb, I want you to
understand, in the imperative mood, and means add ;
that is all there is to it," was the emphatic answer of
Mr. Branch.

James looked at the boys, and smiled in his knowing
way. The teacher saw the unbelief which pervaded that
look, and he continued, — ■

"See here, young man, and does something more
than connect two things ; it adds. I want to speak of
you and Henry, two of you together, and I say, James
and Henry ; that is, add Henry to James : don't you
see it now } It is clear as daylight."

i86 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

There was no daylight in it to James, and he so
expressed himself. Each day brought discussion in the
class between the principal and James. The former's
system of grammar was all of a piece with and and but^
so that the hour for the grammar class was an hour of
contention, very spicy to the members of the class, but
rather annoying to the teacher. The latter was not long
in discovering that he had a remarkable scholar in
James, — one who would not receive anything on trust,
or without the most substantial reason or proof. His
respect for James' talents somewhat reconciled him to
his annoying contradictions.

The hoys had much sport over Branch's grammar;
we mean James and his cousins.

" If but is a verb, then hutUr must be an ^^verb, since
it only adds three more letters and one more syllable,"
said James.

" You ought to have told him so," replied Henry ;
" it's a good point : it is carrying out his system ex-
actly."

^'Not much system about it, any way," responded
James, "but a good deal of egotism and stubbornness."

*' You can be as stubborn as he is," remarked Henry.
*' He don't hardly know how to get along with Kirk-
man ; it's tough for him."

We will not follow the grammar class. It should be
said, however, that James never adopted Branch's gram-
mar. He contended against it so long as he continued
in the class ; and it is our private opinion that the
author of Branch's Grammar was well pleased when
James exchanged it for another study.

The boys succeeded tolerably well at housekeeping,
though they did not extract quite so much fun from it
as they expected. After a short time, they hired the

GJ7AUGA SEMINARY, 187

old lady in the house to cook some of their food. She
did their hashing, also. It was only a very small
amount they paid her weekly. Still, buying his books,
aad incurring some other unavoidable expenses, James
saw his eleven dollars dwindling away quite rapidly.

" I must look up work, or I shall become bankrupt
soon," remarked James. " I can see the bottom of my
purse now, almost."

"What sort of work do you expect to find In this
little place } " inquired William.

" Carpenter's work, I guess," answered James. " I've
had my eye on that carpenter's shop yonder (pointing)
for some time. They seem to be busy there. I never
lived anywhere yet that I couldn't find work enough.
I shall try them to-morrow."

" What is that carpenter's name ? " inquired William.

" Woodworth — Heman Woodworth. I have had my
eye on him for some time."

Before school, on the following morning, James
applied to Mr. Woodworth for work.

" What do you know about this business ? " Mr.
Woodworth inquired.

" I have worked for Mr. Treat, of Orange," James
replied.

" I know him ; what can you do } " said Mr. Wood-
worth.

" I can build a barn, if you want I should," answered
James, laughingly. " I have helped in building five or
si.^ barns. I can plane for you."

" You look as if you might be a good, strong fellow
for planing," continued Mr. Woodworth. " You pay
your own way at school } "

" Yes, sir ; I had only eleven dollars to begin with,
and that won't last long."

i88 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

" Not long, I shouldn't think, as board is here."

" I board myself," added James, by way of enlight-
ening the carpenter.

" Board yourself ? That is rather tough, though many
do it."

" Many things are tougher than that," remarked
James.

" Perhaps so ; but that is tough enough. You may
come over after school, and I'll see what I can do for
you."

"And what you can do for yourself," quickly re-
sponded James. " If I can't work so as to make it an
object for you to hire me, then I don't wish to work for
you. I don't ask you to let me have work as a matter
of charity."

Mr. Woodworth admired the pluck of the boy, and
he repeated, " Come over after school, and I will see
what I can do for you."

" I can work two or three hours a day, and all day on
Saturdays ; and you needn't put a price on my work
until you see what I can do," added James, as he turned
away.

The result was that Mr. Woodworth hired James, who
worked at the shop before school in the morning, and
then hurried to it at the close of school, at four o'clock ;
and, on Saturdays, he made a long day's labour. He
continued this method through the term, denying him-
self of the games and sports enjoyed by the scholars,
excepting only an occasional hour. No boy loved a
pastime better than he, but to pay his bills was more
important than sport. At the close of the term he had
money enough to pay all his bills, and between two and
three dollars to carry home with him.

One of the chief attractions of the seminary to James

GEAUGA SEMINARY. 189

was its library, although it was small. It contained only
one hundred and fifty volumes ; but to James that
number was a spectacle to behold. He was not long in
ascertaining what books it contained ; not that he read
a great many of them, for he had not time ; but h'Q
examined the library, and found it destitute of books
of the "Jack Halyard" style; nor was he sorry. He
found a class of books just suited to aid students like
himself in their studies, and he was well satisfied. He
made as much use of them as possible in the circum-
stances, and often read far into the night. It was a
luxury to him, rather than a self-denial, to extend his
studies into the night, in order to be perfect in his
lessons, and secure a little time for reading.

The regulations of the school made it necessary for
James to write a composition twice a month, sometimes
upon a subject announced by the principal, and some-
times upon a topic of his own selection. Occasionally,
the authors of the essays were required to read them
to the whole school, from the platform. The first time
that James read an essay, he trembled more than he did
before rebel cannon twelve or fourteen years thereafter.

*' Lucky for me," said James to his room-mates, " that
there was a curtain in front of my legs," alluding to a
narrow curtain on the edge of the platform. .

" How so } " inquired William.

" No one could see my legs shake ; you would have
'/lought they had the shaking palsy."

"I never would have thought that of you.?" added
William.

" It's true, whether you thought it of me or not. I
never trembled so in my life."

" Then you was scared } " remarked William.

" I guess that was the name of it," replied James.

190 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

"Your essay wan't scared, Jim ; it was capital/* con
tinued William. " 1 should be willing to shake a trifle,
if I could write such an essay. Some of them were
astonished that such a suit of clothes as yours should
hide such a production."

" Much obliged," answered James ; " you seem to
praise my essay at the expense of my clothing. I can
afford a better essay than suit of clothes. It costs only
thought and labour to produce the essay, but it costs
money to get clothes."

James had taken from the library the " Life of Henry
C. Wright," and had become deeply interested in its
perusal. He learned of the privations and denials of
Mr. Wright, as well as his methods in acquiring an
education ; and he was captivated by the spirit of the
■ man.

"We can live cheaper than we do," he remarked to
his cousins. " Another term we must adopt Mr. Wright's
diet."

" What was that } " inquired Henry.

''Milk."

" Nothing but milk > "

" Bread and milk ; a milk diet wholly.**

"How long?"

" Right through his course of study."

" Was it cheaper than we are living — thirty-five cents
a week, apiece."

"Yes, but better than that, it was healthier."

" How did he know that } "

" Because he was better than ever before, and had a
clearer head for study."

" It may not suit us, though," remarked William, who
had been listening to the conversation.

" We shan't know till we try," answered James. " I

GEAUGA SEMINARY, 191

propose to try it next term. We are a little too extrava-
gant in our living now ; we must cut down our expenses.
I have had the last cent that I shall take from my
friends. I shall pay my own way hereafter."

"You can't do it," said Henry.

" Then I will quit study. I know I can do it. My
mother needs all the money she can get without helping
me."

" I admire your pluck," added Henry ; " but I think
you will find yourself mistaken."

" As I am earning money now, I can pay my way,"
continued James; "and on a milk diet I can scrimp a
little more."

" And if you should conclude not to eat anything, you
could live at very small expense," retorted Henry, by
way of making fun of his milk diet.

"Laugh at it as much as you please," replied James;
" meat is not necessary to health, I am satisfied of that.
There is more nourishment in good bread and milk than
there is in roast-beef."

" Well, I should take the roast-beef if I could get it,"
interrupted WiUiam. " Milk for babes ; and I am not a
baby."

" Milk for scholars," responded James ; " I actually
believe that a better scholar can be made of milk than
of beef"

" If you will say ' bacon ' instead of beef, perhaps I
shall agree with you," said William, playfully. " I don't
think that bacon can produce high scholarship."

"Jim's essay was made out of it chiefly," remarked
Henry; "that was scholarly. Bacon has contributed
too much to my comfort for me to be-rate it now."

And so the boys treated with some levity a subject
over which James became an enthusiast. He was

192 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

thoroughly taken with Mr. Wright's mode of living, and
thoroughly resolved to adopt it the next term.

The Debating Society, also, interested James very
much ; it was the first one he had ever become ac-
quainted with. The principal recommended it highly
as a means of self-culture, and James accepted his
recommendation as sound and pertinent. He engaged
in debate hesitatingly at first, as if he had grave doubts
of his ability in that direction ; but he soon learned to
value the Society above many of his academical privi-
leges. The trial of his powers in debate disclosed a
facility within him that he had not dreamed of. He
possessed a ready command of language, could easily
express his thoughts upon any question under discussion,
and was really eloquent for one so ungainly in personal
appearance. He studied each question before the club
as he would study a lesson in algebra, determined to
master it. He could usually find books in the library
that afforded him essential aid in preparing for debates,
so that he appeared before the school always well posted
upon the subjects in hand. His familiarity with them
often evoked remarks of surprise from both scholars
and teachers. It was here, probably, that he laid the
foundation for that remarkable ability in debate that
has distinguished him in Congress during the last fifteen
years. He began by preparing himself thoroughly for
every discussion, and that practice has continued with
him to this day. It has made him one of the most
prompt, brilliant, and eloquent disputants in the national
legislature.

It was not strange that James won enviable notoriety
in the Debating Society of the Geauga Academy. The
debates became important and attractive to the whole
school because he was a disputant. Scholars hung upon

GEAUGA SEMINARY. 193

his lips, as now the hstening multitude are charmed by
his eloquence. Teachers and pupils began very soon to
predict for him a brilliant future as a public speaker.
In their surprise and admiration of the young orator,
they forgot the jean trousers, that were too short for his
limbs by four inches.

Henry Wilson discovered his ability to express his
thoughts, before an audience in the village Debating
Society of Natick, Mass., in early manhood. Here he
subjected himself to a discipline that insured his eminence
as a debater in Congress. The celebrated English
philanthropist, Buxton, had no thought of becoming an
orator or a statesman, until he learned, in the debating
society of the school which he attended, that he possessed
an undeveloped ability for the forum. The distinguished
English statesman, Canning, declared that he qualified
himself for his public career in the school of his youth
where the boys organized and supported a mock parlia-
ment, conducting the debates, appointing committees,
enforcing rules, and pitting one party against the other,
precisely as was done by Parliament. In like manner
the hero of this volume really began his distinguished
public career in the lyceum of Geauga Seminary.

XVI.

AFTER VACATION.

A VACATION of two months in the summer gave James
ample opportunity for manual labour. Thomas was at
home, and he decided to build a frame barn for his
mother. He could have the assistance of James, who
really knew more about barn-building than Thomas
did.

"I s'pose you can frame it, Jim," said Thomas.

"I suppose that I can, if algebra and philosophy
have not driven out all I learned of the business."

"You can try your hand at it, then. I should think
that algebra and philosophy would help rather than
hinder barn-building," added Thomas.

"Precious little they have to do with barns, I tell
you," responded James. "They are taking studies,
though."

" It won't take you long to find out what you can do,"
continued Thomas ; " it spoils some boys to go to school
too much."

Thomas had prepared sufficient timber when he was
at home, at different times, for the barn. It was all
ready to be worked into the building ; and the brothers
proceeded to the task resolutely, James leading off in
framing it. No outside help was called in, Thomas and
James considering themselves equal to the task.

We need not delay to record the details of the job.

AFTER VACATION. 193

It will answer our purpose to add, simply, that the
barn was buil,t by the brothers, and thus one more
convenience was added for the comfort of their mother.
The day of log buildings was now over to the Garfield
family. Times had wonderfully changed since Mr.
Garfield died, and the population of the township had
increased, so that " the wilderness and solitary place "
had disappeared.

As soon as the barn was completed, James sought
work elsewhere among the farmers. He must earn
some money before returning to Chester, for a portion
of his doctor's bill remained unpaid, and then, a new
suit of clothes, shirts, and other things, would require
quite an outlay.

He found a farmer behind time in getting his hay.

"Yes, I want you," the farmer said ; "and I wish you
had been here two weeks ago : it seems as if haying
would hold out all summer."

"You are rather behind time, I judge," replied James.
*• Better late than never, though."

" I don't know about that, James. I rather have it
read, better never latel' remarked the sensible man.

" That is my rule," answered James. " At school we
are obliged to be on time. Tardiness is not allowable."

" It never should be allowed anywhere. It seems as
if we can never catch up when we once get behind,"
continued the farmer ; " and then there is no comfort in
it. It keeps one in torment all the while to feel that he
is behindhand : I don't like it."

" Neither do I," answered James. " It is worse to be
behindhand in school than it is on a farm, much worse,
I think. A scholar behind his class is an object of pity."

The farm-work did not continue behindhand long,
however. The remainder of the haying was accom*

196 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

plished in a week, and James had opportunity for other
jobs. He found work clear up to the close of his vaca-
tion, not having even a day for pastime. Thus he was
able to pay off his doctor's bill, provide a better outfit
for another school term than he had the first term, and
to aid his mother also.

James was not idle during the evenings of his vaca-
tion. Algebra occupied a portion of his time ; and two
or three reading books which he brought from the
Chester library beguiled many of his evening hours. If
he had any leisure hours during his vacation, they were
not idle hours. Every hour told upon the new purpose
of his life. He had ceased to talk about going to sea,
or even coasting on Lake Erie, in his enthusiasm for an
education. His mother, of course, never reverted to the
subject, and she was rejoiced to find that James was
aspiring after something higher and nobler. He was
too much absorbed in his course of study to talk about
a sea-faring life, or even to think about it.

" I wish you had some money to take back with you,
James," remarked his mother, the day before he left for
the seminary.

" I don't know as I care for more," answered James.
" I have a ninepence (showing the bit, and laughing), and
that will go as far as it is possible for a ninepence to go.
I have it all arranged to work for Mr. Woodworth out
of school, and I can easily pay my way."

" That may be true ; but a few dollars to begin the
term with would be very convenient," responded Mrs.
Garfield.

" Better begin with nothing and end with something,
than to begin with something and end with nothing,"
added James.

" I suppose, then, that you expect to end the term

AFTER VACATION. 197

with more money than you begin it with ? " said his
mother, inquiringly.

*' Yes, I do ; for I Shall want a little change in my
pocket in the winter, if I teach school," replied James.

" Then you really expect to be qualified to teach
school next winter, do you ? "

" I design to ; perhaps I shall be disappointed,
though."

" I hope not," continued his mother. " By teaching
school in the winter you can get together money enough
to pay your school bills all the rest of the year ; and
that will make it easy for you. I want to see you able
to earn enough in winter to pay all your school bills, so
that you will not be obliged to work before and after
school to earn money."

" I don't expect to see that time, mother. I am con-
tent to work my way along as I have done," was James'
brave reply. " Nobody can be healthier than I am ; so
that it don't wear upon me much."

James returned to Geauga Seminary at the opening
of the fall term, with the solitary ninepence in his
pocket. He playfully suggested to Henry that " the bit
must be very lonesome," and thought he might provide
a " companion " for it ere long. The circumstances
remind us of the experience of the late Horace Mann,
of Massachusetts. Born in poverty, though not so pooj
as James, he had little hope of gratifying his strong
desire for an education. Providence, however, opened
the way for him to prepare for college, which he did in
six months, not knowing whether he would be able to
enter or not. By dint of perseverance, he scraped to-
gether money enough to get him into college, although
he could not tell where the money was coming from to
keep him there. After a few weeks he wrote to his

iqS from log-cabin to white iiousn.

sister, " My last two ninepences parted company some
days ago, and there is no prospect of their ever meeting
again." That is, he had a solitary ninepence in his
pocket.

On the Sabbath after James* return to the seminary
he was at public worship, when the contribution-box
was passed through the audience. Whether James'
sympathy for the lonely bit in his pocket got the better
of his judgment, or whether it was the generosity of his
soul (we suspect it was the latter), he dropped the nine-
pence into the box, thereby creating as great an empti-
ness as possible in his pocket. He was now upon an
equality with the widow of the Scriptures, who cast her
two mites (all she had) into the treasury of the Lord.

James and his cousins boarded themselves during the
fall term, adopting Wright's milk diet at first, thereby
reducing their expenses a very little, though not much.

" Just thirty-one cents each per week," remarked
James, after the trial of that method of living four
weeks. He had kept a careful account, and now found
the result to be as indicated.

" I feel as if it had not cost us more than that," an-
swered Henry. "My physical constitution is reduced
quite as much as our expenses, I think." He said this
humorously in part, although he was not much capti-
vated with their mode of living.

" That which costs the least is not always the cheap-
est," remarked William, whose opinions coincided with
those of his brother. '*/ feel as if we were having
pretty cheap living ; " and he emphasized the word
cheap in his peculiar way.

"Well, I feel as if I had been living on the fat of the
land," responded James. " I think I could handle you
both," he added, laughingly.

AFTER VACATION. 199

**There*s no doubt of it," replied Henry; "you would
grow fat on sawdust pudding, only have enough of it ;
but this sticking to one article of diet right along don't
suit me."

" You are one of the philosophers who maintain that
* variety is the spice of life,' in eating as well as in plea-
sure, I suppose," answered James. " For my part, one
thing at a time will do for me, if it is only good enough."

" I don't know of one thing alone that is good enough
for me," remarked Henry. " I go for increasing our
expenses a little. We can go up to fifty cents a week
without damaging anybody."

" That's what I think," added William. " I think I
can be pretty well satisfied with that."

" Just as you choose, boys ; I can make way with
nineteen cents' worth of luxuries more, in case of neces-
sity," replied James. " Sawdust pudding or plum pud-
ding is all the same to me ; I can thrive on either."

" Now, Jim," said Henry, very philosophically, " I
believe, after all, that you are as anxious as we are for
better living, only you don't want to own it, and back
down. You are the last fellow to back out of anything."
Henry was about right in his remark. James was not
at all unwilling to adopt a more expensive fare, although
his iron will would carry him through his work with
almost any sort of diet. His health was so robust, and
his power of endurance so great, that he could eat much
or little, apparently, and thrive.

The upshot of this interview was, that James assented
to the increase of expenses to fifty cents per week each.
Milk was continued chiefly as their diet, but other
things were added for variety. The last half of the
term their board cost them fifty cents per week.

James had never spoken with the principal about

200 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

becoming a teacher, although he was intending to do it.
But Mr. Branch opened the subject about the middle
of the term. He well knew the poverty of James, and
took additional interest in him for that reason. He felt
that a youth of his talents ought to acquire an educa-
tion ; and he could see no better way of accomplishing
it than by teaching school in the winter.

" How would you like to try your hand at school-
keeping, James ? " inquired Mr. Branch.

"I intend \.o iry my hand at it next winter, if I can
get a school," answered James. "My mother has always
said that I could get an education if I would qualify
myself to teach school."

" A good plan, James ; I agree with your mother,
exactly. Glad to see that you mind your mother, for
such boys usually come out all right." Mr. Branch was
in a happy frame of mind when he said this, and his
real kindness to James appeared in every word.

" Then," he continued, " what is better than all, you
can do a great deal of good by teaching school. You
will not only find it the best way to help yourself, but
you will find it the best way to help others ; and that is
the highest of all considerations. We don't live for
ourselves in this world, or ought not to live for ourselves
alone. That is too selfish and contemptible to be
tolerated."

" Do you think I can obtain a school, without any
doubt } " inquired James.

" Unquestionably," answered Mr. Branch. " Teachers
are more numerous than they were ten years ago, and
so it is with schools. More than that, I think you will
succeed in the business. Every one will not be success-
ful in the calling."

" Why do you think I shall succeed ? " asked James,

AFTER VACATION. 201

who was curious to understand what particular qualities
would win in the school-house.

" You will be well qualified ; that is one thing. You
possess ability to express your thoughts readily ; that is
very important for a teacher. Your mind is discrimi-
nating and sharp, to analyse and see the reason of
things ; that is also an indispensable qualification for a
successful teacher. You will govern a school well, I
think, without much trouble. A young man who is
popular with associates in study usually makes a good
teacher." This was the honest reply of the principal
to the last inquiry of James ; all of which was a sub-
stantial encouragement to the latter. He began to look
forward to the new occupation with much pleasure.

One incident occurred at this term of school, relating
to its discipline, in which James played a conspicuous
part. At that time there were about as many rogues
in a school of one hundred pupils as there are to-day.
Human nature averaged about as it does now among
pupils. There was the same need of wise government
and watchfulness on the part of the principal to main-
tain order. In this respect, the principal was well
qualified for his position ; and roguish pupils could not
rebel against his government with impunity. This was
quite well understood ; and still there were occasional
scrapes, in which a class of pupils engaged as the best
way, in their estimation, to dispose of a surplus fund of
animal spirits.

A youth of considerable pertness insulted one of the
townspeople, and it came to the ear of the principal.
Indeed, the citizen entered a complaint against the
pupil, rehearsing the facts to Mr. Branch. The credit
of the school, and the credit of the principal himself,
demanded that he should take notice of the matter,

202 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE IfOUSE.

rebuke the act, and lecture the whole school, that there
might not be a repetition of the act.

As often happens in large schools, the pupils took
sides with the author of the naughty deed. The sym-
pathies of young people, especially in school, unite them
together as by strong cords. Without regard to the
merits of the case, they decide for the accused party,
and sustain him.

" If Bell goes, I go," exclaimed one of the boys,
meaning, that if the principal expelled Bell, he would be
one to leave the school, also. The fact shows that feel-
ing played a more prominent part in the affair than
judgment.

" And I'll be another to go," answered a smart young
fellow ; that is, smart in his own estimation.

" Will you take me along with you } " asked a third,
who was more disposed to show humour than passion.
" ril add one to the company."

" Me, too ! " exclaimed a fourth. " Put me down for
that scrape. A great many folks think that school-boys
have no rights."

In this way the subject was discussed among a class
of the boys, and even some girls signified a willingness
to express their indignation in some such way as that
proposed. It was claimed that as many as " twenty "
pupils would quit school if Bell was expelled. But
when, at last, they came around to James with their
proposition, they met with a serious embarrassment.

" Why should T leave the school because another
fellow is sent away ? " answered James. " Can you tell
me ? "

Of course they could not give a reason why he should.
One boy did venture to reply, —

" We want to show our indignation."

AFTER VACATION. 203

" Indignation about what ? " asked James.

" At sending Bell away."

" But he is not sent away yet, and he may not be."

" Well, I don't believe in treating a fellow so."

" How ? " persisted James.

" Why, call a fellow up, and make such a touse over
his way of speaking to a man."

" How did he speak } "

" The citizen claims that he insulted him. But that's
not the thing for us boys to look at ; we ought to stand
by our fellows."

" Stand by them, right or wrong } " inquired James.

" Yes, if necessaiy,"

" Well, I shall not," answered James, emphatically,
"If one of our fellows gets into a scrape, I will not help
him out unless it can be done honourably ; you can
depend on that."

*' I think it is mean," continued the boy, " for a citizen
to complain of a scholar just because he did not use his
tongue quite right."

" I don't agree with you," answered James ; " Bell
ought to use his tongue as well as he does his hands,
for all that I can see ; and if it gets him into trouble,
he has no one to blame except himself."

" That may all be true," added Bell's persistent friend ;
" but if he gets into trouble thoughtlessly, I am willing
to help him out."

"So am I," quickly responded James, "provided he
is sorry, and is willing to be helped out of it in a proper
way."

"I suppose by that, you have not a good opinion of
our method of helping him } "

" No, I have not. If Bell will apologise to the citizen,
and signify to Mr. Branch that he is sorry, and will

eo4 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE

not repeat the insult, I will be among the first to inter-
cede for him ; but he must help himself before I am
willing to help him."

This ended the proposed rebellion in school. Bell
did make all suitable amends for his misconduct, and
remained in the school. The incident illustrates a pro-
minent trait of character in James thus far through his
life. He had an opinion of his own, and maintained it
in his youth, as he has done in later life. He would
not knowingly defend even a school-companion in wrong-
doing. He repudiated the so-called " code of honour "
in schools, requiring boys to support each other, whether
right or wrong.

The fall term was a very profitable one to James.
His scholarship became fully established. He led the
school in talents and progress. He paid all his bills,
also, by his daily labour in the carpenter's shop, and had
several dollars left for pocket-money at the close of the
term.

XVII.

KEEPING SCHOOL. ,

The next day after James reached home, at the close of
the term, he started out to find a situation as teacher.

" When will you return ? " inquired his mother.

" When I get a school. Somehow I feel as if it would
be a hard matter to get a school."

" I hope not, my son," answered his mother, rejoicing
in her heart that James was going to be a teacher, and
not a sailor.

" / hope not," responded James ; " but I don't seem
to feel as elated over the prospect as I did once. I shall
do my best, however, and I may be gone several days."

James took the most favourable route, on foot, and
made his first application about ten miles from home.

" You are too young," replied the committee to his
application ; " we don't want a doy to teach our school.''

" I have a recommendation from Mr. Branch, principal
of the Geauga Seminary ; " and he proceeded to exhibit
his testimonials.

" No matter about that," replied the committee-man.
"No doubt you know enough, but you can't make your-
self any older than you be ; that's the trouble. We've
had boys enough keep our school."

This was quite a damper upon the ardour of James ;
and he left the man, and continued his journey, re-
flecting upon the value of age to pedagogues.

2o6 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

The next school district that he reached had engaged
a teacher.

" If you had come a week ago, I'd hired yer," the man
said.

It was encouraging to James that he had found a
district where age was not an absolute requirement.
He thought better of youth now.

" Possibly in the Norton District they've not a teacher
yet," the man added.

" Where's that } " inquired James.

" About three miles north of here," pointing with his
finger. " Go to Mr. Nelson ; he's the man you want ter
see. He'll hire yer, if he's no teacher."

James posted away to the Norton District, and found
Mr. Nelson, just about dark.

"Just found a teacher, young man, and hired him,"
Mr. Nelson said. " Can't very well hire another."

" Of course not," answered James ; **and perhaps the
one you hired needs the chance as much as I do."

" Perhaps so ; he's trying to get an education."

"So am I," responded James.

"Where?"

"At Geauga Seminary."

" Ah ! we had a teacher from that seminary two years
ago, and he was as good a teacher as we ever had."

" That is fortunate for me," remarked James, plea-
santly. "If he had not proved a good teacher, you
would not want another from that institution."

" Very like," replied Mr. Nelson. " But come, you
can't look after any more schools to-night ; it is getting
dark. Come in, and stop over night with us."

James accepted the cordial invitation, stopped with
the family over night, and on the following day con-
tinued his school-hunting trip. But he did not find

KEEPING SCHOOL. 207

a school. He met with one committee-man who de-
clined to hire him because " We had one feller from
Gaga Siminary, and he made sich a botch of it that we
don't want another."

After two days of hard work in the vain search for
a school, James reached home more thoroughly discou-
raged than his mother ever knew him to be before.

" It is impossible to find a school ; most of them have
teachers engaged," said James. And he gave a full
account of his travels and disappointments.

" Perhaps the Lord has something better for you in
store, James," answered his mother. " It is not best for
you to be discouraged, after you have overcome so
many obstacles."

James did not tell his mother that if the Lord had
anything better in store for him, he would be obliged if
He would make it known ; but he thought so.

"You are tired enough to go to bed," added his
mother ; " and to-morrow you can- talk with your Uncle
Amos about it."

Uncle Amos was their counsellor in all times of trial ;
and James accepted the suggestion as a kind of solace,
and retired.

The next morning, before he was up, he heard a man
call to his mother from the road.

" Widow Garfield ! "

She responded by going to the door.

" Where's your boy Jim t "

" He is at home. He is not up yet," Mrs. Garfield
replied, a little curious to know what he wanted of
James so early in the morning.

" I wonder if he'd like to keep our school at the
Ledge this winter," the man continued.

James bounded out of bed at the sound of the word

2o8 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

school, beginning to think that Providence had sent an
angel, in the shape of a man, to bring the " something
better," which his mother told about. He stood face to
face with the man in an incredibly brief period. The
caller was a well-known neighbour, living only a mile
away, and the school for which he wanted a teacher was
not much farther than that.

" How is it, Jim ; will you keep our school at the
Ledge this winter?" he inquired.

"I want a school," was James' indirect reply. He
knew the character of the school, — that it was rough
and boisterous, — and he hesitated.

"Reg'lar set of barbarians, you know, Jim, down
there," the man continued.

" Yes ; I know it is a hard school to teach. Do you
think I can manage it? All the scholars know me."
This reply of James showed what thoughts were passing
through his mind. The committee-man replied :

" They all know you, of course, and they know that
you can lick the whole of them without any trouble, if
you set about it ; and you are just the chap to run the
school. The boys have driven out the master for two
winters now ; and I want somebody to control the
school this winter, if he don't do a thing but stand over
them with a cane. A thrashing all round would do
them an immense amount of good. Now, what do you
say ? Give you twelve dollars a month and board."

This portrayal of the character of the school rather
discouraged James than otherwise ; but his mother
spoke, by way of helping him out of the difficulty :

" This is an unexpected call to James, and he'd better
consider it to-day, and let you knov/ his decision to-
night."

*' I will do that," said James.

KEEPING SCHOOL. 209

" That will answer ; but I hope you won't fail me,"
the man responded, and drove off.

" Go over and consult your uncle Amos after break-
fast," advised his mother. " It is a very difficult school
to undertake for the first one."

"I should prefer to teach among strangers, at least
my first school," responded James. " Do you think
this is the * something better ' Providence had in store
for me } "

"Perhaps so. If you should be successful in this
school, your reputation as a teacher would be estab-
lished ; you would have no more trouble in finding
schools to keep."

" I see that ; and still, if I had a chance to take a
school among strangers, I should decline this one," said
James.

** Perhaps that is the very reason you did not find a
school. Providence means you shall take this one. I
really think, James, that this is the correct view of the
case." .

James could not suppress a laugh over this turn of
affairs ; nor could he fail to respect his mother's moral
philosophy. He really began to think that Providence
was forcing him to take this school, and he mentally
decided to take it before he saw Uncle Amos.

*' Tough school," remarked Uncle Amos, when James
sought his advice. "Those rough fellows have had
their way so long in school that it will be a hard matter
to bring them into subjection. How do you feel about
it yourself .^ "

" I would prefer to teach where the scholars are not
acquainted with me," replied James.

"That might make a difference with some teachers,
James ; but the boys have nothing against you. Perhaps

P

210 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

they will behave better because they know you so
well. I think they respect you, and that will be a great
help."

" Then you think I had better teach the school t "
remarked James, understanding the drift of his uncle's
remarks to mean that.

" On the whole, I am inclined to think you had better
teach the school."

" If I had an opportunity to teach a better school, you
would not advise me to take the one at the Ledge : I
understand you to mean this."

"About that," his uncle answered. Pausing a few
moments, as if to reflect upon the matter, he continued :

" It is just here, James ; you will begin that school as
* Jim Garfield ; ' now, if you can leave it, at the close of
the term, as Mr. Garfield, your reputation as a teacher
will be established, and you will do more good than you
can in any other school in Ohio."

Uncle Amos was a very wise man, and James knew
it. His opinion upon all subjects was a kind of rule
to be followed in the Garfield family. In this case his
counsel was wise as possible ; its wisdom appeared in
every word.

" I shall take the school," said James decidedly, as he
rose to go.

" I think it will prove the best decision," added his
uncle.

The committee-man was notified according to agree-
ment, and within two days it was noised over the district
that "Jim Garfield" would teach the winter school. At
first, remarks were freely bandied about, pro and con,
and the boys, and girls too, expressed themselves very
decidedly upon the subject, one way or the other.
Before school commenced, however, the general opinion

KEEPING SCHOOL, 2H

of the district, parents and pupils, was about as one of
the large boys expressed it :

" Me like Jim : he's a good feller, and he knows
more'n all the teachers we ever had. I guess we better
mind. He can lick us easy 'nuf if we don't ; and he'll
do it."

This hopeful school-boy understood that the com-
mittee-man had instructed James to keep order and
command obedience, " if he had to lick every scholar in
school a dozen times over."

It was under these circumstances that James entered
upon his new vocation. He dreaded the undertaking
far more than he confessed ; and when he left home
on the morning his school began, he remarked to his
mother :

" Perhaps I shall be back before noon, through with
school-keeping," signifying that the boys might run over
him in the outset.

"I expect that you will succeed, and be the most
popular teacher in town," was his mother's encouraging
reply. She saw that James needed some bracing up in
the trying circumstances.

James had determined in his own mind to run the
school without resorting to the use of rod or ferule, if
possible. He meant that his government should be
firm, but kind and considerate. He was wise enough
to open his labour on the first morning without laying
down a string of rigid rules. He simply assured the
pupils he was there to aid them in their studies, that
they might make rapid progress ; that all of them were
old enough to appreciate the purpose and advantages of
the school, and he should expect their cordial co-opera-
tion. He should do the best that he could to have an
excellent school, and if the scholars would do the same

212 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

both teacher and pupils would have a good time, and
the best school in town.

Many older heads than he have displayed less wisdom
in taking charge of a difficult school. His method
appeared to be exactly- adapted to the circumstances
under which he assumed charge. He was on good
terms with the larger boys before, but now those har-
monious relations were confirmed.

We must use space only to sum up the work of the
winter. The bad boys voluntarily yielded to the
teacher's authority, and behaved creditably to them-
selves, and satisfactorily to their teacher. There was
no attempt to override the government of the school,
and former rowdyism, that had been the bane of the
school, disappeared. The pupils bent their energies tc
study, as if for the first time they understood what going
to school meant. James interested the larger scholars
in spelling-matches, in which all found much enjoy-
ment as well as profit. He joined in the games and
sports of the boys at noon, his presence proving a
restraint upon the disposition of some to be vulgar and
profane. He was perfectly familiar with his scholars,
and yet he was so correct and dignified in his ways that
the wildest boy could but respect him.

James " boarded around," as was the universal custom;
and this brought him into every family in the course of
the winter. Here he enjoyed an additional opportunity
to influence his pupils. He took special pains to aid
them in their studies, and to make the evenings enter-
taining to the members of the families. He read aloud
to them, reliearsed history, told stories, availing himself
of his quite extensive reading to furnish material. In
this way he gained a firm hold both of the parents and
their children.

KEEPING SCHOOL. 213

His Sabbaths were spent at home with his mother
during the winter. The Disciples' meeting had become
a fixed institution, so that he attended divine worship
every Sabbath. A preacher was officiating at the time
in whom James became particularly interested. He
was a very earnest preacher, a devout Christian, and a
man of strong native abilities. He possessed a tact for
" putting things," as men call it, and made his points
sharply and forcibly. He was just suited to interest a
youth like James, and his preaching made a deep im-
pression upon him. From week to week that impression
deepened, until he resolved to become a Christian at
once; and he did. Before the close of his school he
gave good evidence that he had become a true child of
God. And now his mother's cup of joy was overflow-
ing. She saw distinctly the way in which God had led
him, and her gratitude was unbounded. James saw,
too, how it was that his mother's prophecy was fulfilled :
" Providence has something better in store for you."

The verdict of parents and pupils at the close of the
term was, "The best teacher we ever had." So
James parted with his scholars, sharing their confidence
and esteem ; and his uncle Amos was satisfied, because
he left the school as Mr. Garfield.

He returned to Geauga Seminary, not to board him-
self, but to board with Mr. Woodworth, the carpenter,
according to previous arrangement. Mr. Woodworth
boarded him for $1.06 per week, including his washing,
and took his pay in labour. It was an excellent oppor-
tunity for James, as well as for the carpenter. His
chief labour in the shop was planing boards. On the
first Saturday after his return he planed fifty-one boards,
at two cents apiece ; thus earning on that day one dollar
and two cents, nearly enough to pay a week's board.

214 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

We shall pass over the details of his schooling that
year, to his school-keeping at Warrensville the following
winter, where he was paid sixteen dollars a month and
board. It was a larger and more advanced school than
the one of the previous winter, in a pleasanter neigh-
bourhood, and a more convenient school-house. We
shall stop to relate but two incidents connected with his
winter's work, except to say that his success was .com-
plete.

One of the more advanced scholars wanted to study
geometry, and James had given no attention to it. He
did not wish to let the scholar know that he had never
studied it, for he knew full well that he could keep in
advance of his pupil, and teach him as he desired. So
he purchased a text-book, studied geometry at night,
sometimes extending his studies far into the night, and
carried his pupil through, without the latter dreaming
that his teacher was not an expert in the science. James
considered this as clear gain ; for he would not have
mastered geometry that winter but for this necessity
laid upon him. It left him more time in school for
other studies.

This fact is a good illustration of what James has said
since he was in public life, viz. : " A young man should
be equal to more than the task before him ; he should
possess reserved power." He had not pursued geometry,
but he was equal to it in the emergency. His reserved
force carried him triumphantly over a hard place.

One day he fell when engaged in out-door sports with
his big boys, the result of which was a large rent in his
pantaloons. They were well-worn, and so thin that it
did not require much of a pressure to push one of his
knees through them. He pinned up the rent as well as
he could, and went to his boarding-place, after school,

KEEPING SCHOOL. 215

with a countenance looking almost as forlorn as his
trousers. He was boarding with a Mrs. Stiles at the
time, a motherly kind of a woman, possessing consider-
able sharpness of intellect.

" See what a plight I am in, Mrs. Stiles," showing the
rent in his pants.

*' I see j how did you do that V said Mrs. Stiles.

" Blundering about, as usual," James replied. ** I
hardly know what I shall do."

" What ! so scared at a rent," the good lady ex-
claimed ; " that's nothing."

" It is a good deal, when it is all the pantaloons a
fellow has," answered James. "This is all the suit I
possess in the world, poor as it is."

" It is good enough, and there's enough of it as long
as it lasts," replied the good woman ; " make the best
of things."

"I think I could make the best of an extra suit," ic-
sponded James ; " but this making the best of a single
suit, and a flimsy one at that, is asking too much." He
said this humorously.

*• Well," continued Mrs. Stiles, " I can darn that rent
so that it will be just as good as new, if not better.
That's easy enough done."

" On me t " asked James, in his innocence.

" Mercy, no ! When you go to bed one of the boys
will bring down your trousers, and I'll mend them. In
the morning no one will know that you met with such
an accident. You mustn't let such small matters trouble
you. You'll forget all about them when you become
President."

James' wardrobe was not much more elaborate at
this time than it was when he began attending school
at Chester. He had no over-coat nor under-clothing,

2i6 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

preferring to expose his body to the cold rather than
rob his mind of knowledge.

At the close of his school in Warrensville, James
returned home, where an unexpected change in his ot-o-
gramme awaited hina.

XVIII.

THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL.

James spent three years at Geauga Seminary, including
school-keeping in winter. It was during his last term
there that he met a young man who was a graduate of
a New England college. James had never thought of
extending his education so far as a college course. He
scarcely thought it was possible, in his extreme poverty,
to do it.

" You can do it," said the graduate. " Several students
did it when I was in college. I did it, in part, myself."

" How could I do it ^ " inquired James.

" In the first place," answered the graduate, " there is
a fund in most of the New England colleges, perhaps in
all of them, the income of which goes to aid indigent
students. It is small, to be sure, but then every little
helps when one is in a tight place. Then there is a great
call for school-teachers in the winter, and college students
are sought after."

" How much is the annual expense, to an economical
student } " asked James.

" It varies somewhat in different colleges, though two
hundred dollars a year, not including apparel, could be
made to cover the running yearly expenses, I think. A
young man would be obliged to be very saving in order
to do it."

" I am used to that,", added James. " They say that

2i8 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

' necessity is the mother of invention,' and I have invented
a good many ways of living cheaply."

"I have known students to obtain jobs of work in
term time, — those who know how to do certain work,"
continued the graduate. " I knew a student who took
care of a man's garden two summers, for which he
received liberal pay. I knew one who taught a gentle-
man's son in the place an hour or so every day, for
which he was paid well. The boy was in delicate health,
not able to enter a school for hard study. I have known
students to get jobs of the faculty, about the college
buildings. I knew one student who sawed wood for
his fellow-students in the fall and winter terms, and he
was one of the best scholars in his class. He was very
popular, too, and was honoured for his perseverance in
acquiring an education. I think that he must have paid
half of his bills by sawing wood."

James began to see further than he did. In his imagin-
ation he began to picture a college building at the end
of his career. It was further off than he had intended
to go in the way of study, but the way before him seemed
to open up to it. What he supposed was impossible
now appeared among possibilities.

" What is the shortest time that it would require me
to prepare and get through college t " James asked
further.

" The necessary time is four years in preparation, and
four years in college," the graduate answered. " Some
students shorten the preparatory course, and enter college
one year in advance."

"/ should have to lengthen it in order to earn the
money to pay my way," responded James. " I would be
willing to undertake it, if I could get through in twelve
years, and pay all my bills."

THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 215

" You can get through in less time than that, I know.
I forgot to tell you that students sometimes enter college
with money enough to carry them through the first two
years ; then they stay out a year and teach an academy
or high school, for which they receive sufficient remu-
neration to carry them through the remainder of the
course. It is a better plan, I think, than to teach a
district school each winter ; it don't interfere so much
with the studies of the college, and it is easier for the
student. Then I have known several students who
borrowed the money of friends to pay their bills, relying
upon teaching, after getting through college, to liquidate
the debt. By waiting until their college course was
completed, they obtained a more eligible situation, at a
higher salary, than would have been possible before."

" Well, I have no friends having money to lend," re-
marked James. " I shall have to content myself with
working my own way by earning all my money as I go
along; and I am willing to do it. I had never thought
it possible for me to go to college ; but now I believe
that I shall try it."

" I hope you will," answered the graduate, who had
learned of James' ability, and who had seen enough of
him to form a high opinion of his talents. " You will
never regret the step, I am sure. You get something
in a college education that you can never lose, and it
will always be a passport into the best society."

From that time James was fully decided to take a
college course, or, at least, to try for it ; and he im-
mediately added Latin and Greek to his studies.

During the last year of his connection with Geauga
Seminary, James united with the Disciples' Church in
Orange. He took the step after much reflection, and
he took it for greater usefulness. At once he became

220 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

an active, working Christian, in Chester. He spoke and
prayed in meeting ; he urged the subject of religion upon
the attention of his companions, privately as well as
publicly ; he seconded the religious efforts of the prin-
cipal, and assisted him essentially in the conduct of
religious meetings. In short, the same earnest spirit
pervaded his Christian life that had distinguished his
secular career.

In religious meetings his simple, earnest appeals,
eloquently expressed, attracted universal attention.
There was a naturalness and fervour in his addresses
that held an audience remarkably. Many attended
meetings to hear him speak, and for no other reason.
His power as a public speaker began to show itself un-
mistakably at that time. No doubt his youthful appear-
ance lent a charm to his words.

** He IS a born preacher," remarked Mr. Branch to
one of the faculty, " and he will make his mark in that
profession."

** One secret of his power is, that he is wholly un-
conscious of it," answered the member of the faculty
addressed. " It seems to me he is the most eminent
example of that I ever knew. He appears to lose all
thought of himself in the subject before him. He is
not a bold young man at all ; he is modest as any
student in the academy, and yet, in speaking, he seems
to be so absorbed in his theme that fear is banished. He
will make a power in the pulpit, if present appearances
foreshadow the future."

*' It cannot be otherwise," responded Mr. Branch, " if
cause and effect follow each other. He develops very
rapidly indeed. I wish it were possible for him to have
a college education."

All seemed to take it for granted that James wouk

ould^

THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 221

be a preacher, although he had not signified to any one
that he intended to be. He had given no thought to
that particular subject. He was too much absorbed in
his studies, too much in love with them, to settle that
question. But his interest in religious things, and his
ability as a speaker, alone led them to this conclusion.
The same feeling existed among the pupils.

" Jim will be a minister now," remarked one of his
companions to Henry.

" Perhaps so," was Henry's only reply.

** He will make a good one, sure," chimed in a third.
" By the time he gets into the pulpit, he will astonish
the natives."

"That will be ten years from now," said the first
speaker.

" Not so long as that," rejoined Henry. " Five or six
years is long enough."

" He won't wear trousers of Kentucky jean, then,"
added the second speaker, in a jocose manner.

'^ He won't care whether he does or not," remarked
Henry. " He would wear Kentucky jean just as quick
as broadcloth ; such things are wholly unimportant in
his estimation."

So the matter of his becoming a preacher was dis-
cussed, all appearing to think that he was destined to
become a pulpit orator. Doubtless some thought it was
the only profession he would be qualified to fill.

During the summer vacation of his last year at
Geauga Seminary, in connection with a schoolmate,
he sought work among the farmers in the vicinity. He
found no difficulty in securing jobs to suit his most
sanguine expectations. An amusing incident occurred
with one of the farmers, to whom he applied for work.

" What do you know about work ? " inquired the

222 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

farmer, surveying them from head to foot, and seeming
to question their fitness for his farm.

"We have worked at farming," answered James,
modestly.

" Can you mow } "

" Yes, sir."

*^ Can you mow well? " emphasizing the last word.

"You can tell by trying us," answered James, not
wishing to praise his own ability at labour.

" What wages do you want } "

" Just what you think is right."

" Well, that is fair ; where did you come from } "

James enlightened him on this subject, and informed
him, also, that they were trying to get an education.

" You are plucky boys," the farmer added; "I think
you may go to work."

He conducted them to the hay-field, where they were
provided with scythes, remarking to the three men
already mowing, " Here are two boys who will help you."

James exchanged glances with his companion, and
the initiated might have discovered in their mutual
smiles an inkling of what was coming. Their glances
at each other said, as plainly as words, " Let us beat
these fellows, though we are doys." James thought that
the farmer emphasized the word doj^s more than was
justifiable.

The boys had mowed an hour, the farmer being an
interested witness, when the latter cried out to the three
men :

" See here, you lubbers ; those doj/s are beatin* you
all holler. Their swaths are wider, and they mow better
than you do. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves."

The men made no reply, but bent their energies to
work more resolutely. The boys, too, were silent,

THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 223

although they enjoyed the praise of their employer very
much. They comprehended the situation fully, and
their labours were pushed accordingly. One day, while
at work with the men, one of them said to James :
- " Yer are school-boys, I understand."

"Yes, we are," answered James.

" Where'd yer larn to farm it t "

"At home, and all about. We've had to earn our
living," was the reply of James.

" Yer are no worse for that ; it won't damage your
larnin'."

" I expect not ; I should say good-bye to the scythe
if I thought so," repHed James. " If there had been no
work, there would have been no education for me."

" What yer goin' to make — a preacher 1 "

" That is an unsolved problem," answered James, in a
playful way. "I have undertaken to make a man of
myself first. If I succeed, I may make something else
afterwards ; if I don't succeed, I shall not be fit for much
any way."

•* Yer in a fair way to succeed, I guess," responded the
labourer, who seemed to have the idea, in common with
other people, that James was aiming to be a minister.

When the day of settlement with the boys came, the
farmer said :

" Now, boys, what must I pay you ? "

" What you think is right," replied James, at the same
time thinking that the farmer's emphasis of the word
boys indicated boys' pay.

" I s'pose you don't expect men's wages ; you are only
boys."

" If boys do men's work, what's the difference 1 "

" Well, you see, boys never have so much as men :
there's a price for boys, and there's a price for men.

224 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

Some boys will do more work than others, but the best
of them only have boys' pay."

" But you told the men that we mowed wider swaths,
and mowed better than they, and beat them. Now,
admit that we are boys, if we have done men's work, why
should we not have their pay? I told you at first to
pay us what was right, and I say so now ; and if we
have worked as well as your men, or better, is it not
right that we should have their pay } "

James' plea was a strong one, and the farmer felt its
force. There was but one honourable course out of the
difficulty, and that was to pay the boys just what he did
the men.

" Well, boys, I can't in justice deny that you did as
much work as the men," he said, " and so I'll pay you
men's wages ; but you are the first boys I ever paid such
wages to."

" I hope we are not the last ones," added James, who
was never in a strait for a reply.

The farmer paid them full wages, and parted with
them in good feeling, wishing them success in their strug-
gles for an education, and saying to James :

" If, one of these days, you preach as well as you mow,
I shall want to hear you."

When they left the farmer, James remarked to his
companion :

" Everybody seems to think that I am going to be a
preacher; why is it?" He was so unconscious of his
abilities for that profession that he was actually puzzled
to know why it was.

" I suppose it is because they think you are better
qualified for that than any other calling," his companion
replied. " I never heard you say what profession you
should choose."

THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 225

" No, I don't think you have ; nor any one else. When
the time comes I shall choose for the best. I should
like to be a preacher, and I should like to be a teacher.
I don't know but I should like to be a lawyer. I
shouldn't want to be a doctor."

James stated the matter here just about as it was at
that time. He was going to make the most of himself
possible, in the first place, — a very sensible idea for a
youth, — and then devote himself to the manifest line of
duty.

At this time the anti-slavery contest ran high through-
out the country. In Ohio its friends were as zealous and
fearless as they were anywhere in the country. The
question of the abolition of slavery was discussed, not
only in pulpits and on public rostrums, but in village
and school lyceums. It was discussed in the Debating
Society of the Seminary. "Ought Slavery to be
ABOLISHED IN THIS REPUBLIC } " This was a question
that drew out James in one of his best efforts. From
the time his attention was drawn to the subject, he was
a thorough hater of slavery. It was such a monstrous
wrong that he had no patience with it.

" A disgrace to the nation," he said. " People fighting
to be free, and then reducing others to a worse slavery
than that which they fought ! It is a burning shame ! "

"The founders of the government didn't think so,"
answered the schoolmate addressed. "If they had
thought so, they would have made no provision for it."

"So much more the shame," replied James. "The
very men who fought to break the British yoke of
bondage legalized a worse bondage to others ! That is
what makes my blood boil. I can't understand how
men of intelligence and honour could do what is so
inconsistent and inhuman,"

o

226 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

" Slavery wouldn't stand much of a show where you
are, I judge," added his schoolmate. "You would sweep
it away without discussing the question whether inline'
diate emancipation is safe or not."

" Safe ! " exclaimed James, in a tone of supreme
contempt ; " it is always safe to do right, and it is never
safe to do wrong, especially to perpetrate such a mon-
strous wrong as to buy and sell men."

It was this inborn and inbred hostility to human
bondage that James carried into the discussion of the
question named, in their school lyceum. He prepared
himself for the debate with more than usual carefulness.
He read whatever he could find upon the subject, and
he taxed his active brain to the utmost in forging argu-
ments against the crime.

Companions and friends had been surprised and
interested before by his ability in debate ; but on this
occasion he discussed his favourite theme with larger
freedom and more eloquence than ever. There was a
manly and exhaustive treatment of the question, such
as he had not evinced before. It enlisted his sympathies
and honest convictions as no previous question had
done; so that his fervour and energy were greater
than ever, holding the audience in rapt and delighted
attention.

Commenting upon his effort afterwards, one of his
schoolmates said to a number of his companions
present :

"We'll send Jim to Congress one of these days."
James was present, and the remark was intended both
for sport and praise.

"I don't want you should send me until I have
graduated at Geauga Academy," retorted James, dis-
posed to treat the matter playfully.

THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL, 227

" We'll let you do that ; but we can begin the cam-
paign now, and set the wires for pulling by-and-by,"
replied the first speaker. " I'll stump the district foi
you, Jim, and charge only my expenses."

" And who will you charge your expenses to ? "
inquired James.

" To the candidate, of course, Hon. James A. Garfield,"
the schoolmate answered, with a laugh, in which the
whole company joined, not excepting James. The incident
illustrtites the place that James held in the opinions of
his school-fellows. Not the immature opinions of partial
friends, but the well-considered and honest estimate of
faculty and pupils.

In the fall term of that year there came to the school
a young lady by the name of Lucretia Rudolph, a
modest, unpretentious, talented girl. James soon dis-
covered that she was a young lady of unusual worth and
intellectual ability. He was not much inclined to the
company of school -girls ; he was too bashful to make
much of a display in that line. He was not very com-
panionable in their society, for he was not at home there.
But he was unconsciously drawn to this new and pretty
pupil. Miss Lucretia Rudolph. First, her modest, lady-
like demeanour attracted his attention. There was a
grace in her movements, and evidence of intellectual
strength in her conversation. Her recitations were
perfect, showing industry and scholarship. These things
impressed James sensibly. No female student had
attracted his attention at all before. Nor was there any
such thing as falling in love with her on his part. He
regarded her with more favour than he had ever regarded
a young lady in school ; and it was her worth and
scholarship that drew him. They were intimate,
mutually polite, helpers of each other in study, real

228 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

friends in all the relations of schoolmates. Further
than that, neither of them had thoughts about each
other. They associated together, and parted at the close
of the term with no expectation, perhaps, of renewing
their acquaintance again. We speak of the matter
here, because the two will meet again elsewhere.

James made rapid progress in Latin after he decided
to go to college. It was the study that occupied his
odd moments especially. Every spare hour that he
could snatch was devoted to this. The following winter
he taught school, and Latin received much of his atten-
tion in evening hours. He enjoyed the study of it, and,
at the same time, was stimulated by the consideration
that it was required in a college course of study.

Late in the autumn James met with a young -man
who was connected with the Eclectic Institute, a new
institution just established in Hiram, Portage County,
Ohio. James knew that such an institution had been
opened, and that was all ; of its scope and character he
was ignorant.

" You can fit for college there," he said to James ;
" there is no better place in the country for that business.
The school opened with over one hundred scholars, and
the number is rapidly increasing."

" Any fitting for college there now } " James inquired.

" Yes, several ; I am one of them."

" How far along are you } "

" Only just begun. I have to work my own way, so
that it will be slow."

"That is the case with me. So far I have had but
eleven dollars from my friends, and I have more than
returned that amount to them."

" A fellow can do it if he only has grit enough."

" How expensive is the school ? " continued James.

THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 229

" Not more expensive than Geauga Seminary. It is
designed to give a chance to the poorest boy or girl to
get an academical education. Besides, it is conducted
under the auspices of the Disciples, and the teachers
belong to that sect."

*'I belong to the Disciples' Church," said James.

" So do I. That would not take me there, however,
if it was not a good school. I think It is one of the best
schools to be found."

" The teachers are well qualified, are they } "

" They are the very best of teachers ; no better in any
school."

" I am glad that you have called my attention to the
school," added James ; " I think I shall go there next
year."

Here was the second casual meeting with a person,
in a single term, that had much to do with the future
career of James. His mother would have called it
Providential : James would call it so 7toiv. Meeting
with one of them led to his decision to go to college ;
meeting with the other carried him to the Hiram
Eclectic Institute.

James closed his connection with the Geauga Semi-
nary at the expiration of the fall term, leaving it with a
reputation for scholarship and character of which the in-
stitution was justly proud. As we have said, he taught
school during the following winter. It was at Warrens-
ville, where he had taught before. He received eighteen
dollars a month, and board, with the esteem and gratitude
of his patrons.

We should not pass over the oration that James de-
livered at the annual exhibition of Geauga Seminary, in
November, 1850. It was his last task performed at the
institution, and the first oration of his literary life. The

230 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

part assigned to him was honorary ; and he spent all
the time he could spare, amid other pressing duties,
upon the production. He was to quit the institution,
and he would not conceal his desire to close his course
of study there with his best effort. He kept a diary at
the time, and his diary discloses the anxiety with which
he undertook the preparation of that oration, and the
thorough application with which he accomplished his
purpose. Neither ambition nor vanity can be discovered,
in the least degree, in his diary ; that was written for no
eyes but his dwn. His performance proved the attrac-
tion of the hour. It carried the audience like a surprise,
although they expected a noble effort from the ablest
student in the academy. It exceeded their expectations,
and was a fitting close of his honourable connection with
the school.

Returning home, he found his mother making prepar-
ations to visit relatives in Muskingum County, eighteen
miles from Zanesville.

" You must go, James ; I have made all my arrange-
ments for you to go with me," said his mother.

" How long will you be gone t "

" All the spring, and into the summer, perhaps."

** I had concluded to go to the Eclectic Institute, at
Hiram, when the spring term opens."

" You have } Why do you go there } "

" To prepare for college."

" Do you expect you can work your way through
college } "

*• I expect I can, or I should not undertake it." And
James then rehearsed the circumstances under which he
decided to go to college, if possible, and to take a pre-
paratory course at Hiram.

" I shall be glad, James, to have you accomplish your

THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 231

purpose," remarked his mother, after listening to his re-
hearsal, in which she was deeply interested. " I think,
however, that you had better go with me, and enter the
Eclectic Institute at the opening of the fall term."

" It will be wasting a good deal of time, it seems to
me," said James.

" I don't mean that you shall go there to idle away
your time. Take your books along with you. You can
find work there, too, I have no doubt. Perhaps you can
find a school there to teach."

"Well, if I can be earning something to help me along,
perhaps I had better go. It will give me an opportunity
to see more of the world "

" And some of your relations, also," interrupted his
mother.

It was settled that James should accompany his mother
on her visit ; and they started as soon as they could get
ready. The journey took them to Cleveland first, where
James was sensibly reminded of his encounter with the
drunken captain, and his providential connection with
the canal boat. The Cleveland and Columbus railroad
had just been opened, and James and his mother took
their first ride in the cars on that day. James had not
seen a railroad before, and it was one of the new things
under the sun, that proved a real stimulus to his
thoughts. He beheld in it a signal triumph of skill and
enterprise.

The state capitol had been erected at Columbus, and
the legislature was in session. It was a grand spectacle to
James. He had scarcely formed an idea of the building,
so that the view of it surprised him. He visited the
legislature in session, and received his first impressions
of the law-making power. It was a great treat to him,
and the impressions of that day were never obliterated.

832 FROM LOG-CA'BIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

From Columbus they proceeded by stage to Zanes-
ville. On their way James remarked, —

" I never should have made an objection to this trip,
if I had expected to see the capitol, or the legislature in
session. That alone is equal to a month's schooling to
me. It has given me an idea about public affairs that
I never had before."

" It is fortunate that you came," replied Mrs. Garfield.
" It does boys who think much good to see things which
set them to thinking^

" I guess that is so," replied James, with a roguish
smile, as if he thought his mother had exerted herself to
compliment him. " Thinking is needed in this world
about as much as anything."

" Right thinking," suggested his mother.

" Mr. Branch says a young man better think errone-
ously than not to think at all," responded James.

" I don't think I should agree with Mr. Branch. It is
safer not to think than to think wrong," said Mrs. Gar-
field.

" I suppose that Mr. Branch meant to rebuke dull
scholars, who never think for themselves, and take every
assertion of the books as correct, without asking whyl'
added James.

James and his mother thus discussed the scenes and
the times on their way to ZanesvUle, enjoying the change
and the scenery very much. From the latter place they
floated down the Muskingum River, in a skiff, to their
destination, eighteen miles distant. Here they found
their relatives the more rejoiced to see them because
their visit was unexpected.

As soon as they were fairly settled among their re-
lations, within four or five days after their arrival, James
began to cast about for something to do.

THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 233

" Perhaps you can get a school to keep over in Har-
rison, four miles from here," said his aunt. " I heard
they were looking after a teacher."

" Who shall I go to there to find out } " inquired
James.

" I can't tell you, but your uncle can, when he gets
home."

James learned to whom application should be made,
and posted away immediately, and secured the school,
at twelve dollars a month, for three months.

" You are fortunate," said his mother, on hearing his
report. " You will be contented to stay now until I get
ready to go home. What kind of a school4iouse have
they .? "

" A log-house ; not much of an affair."

" How large is the school t "

" About thirty ; enough to crowd the building full."

" When do you begin } "

*' Next Monday."

" Board round, I suppose .? '*

" Yes ; and some of the families are between two and
three miles away."

James commenced his school under favourable aus-
pices, so far as his relations to the pupils were concerned.
The conveniences for a school were meagre, and the
parents were indifferent to the real wants of their chil-
dren. Most of them failed to appreciate schooling. It
was quite cold weather when the school opened, and
there was no fuel provided. Near by the school-house,
however, there was coal, in a bank, and James proposed
to his pupils to dig fuel therefrom ; and, in this way,
their fire was run until it became so warm that fire was
not needed.

The pupils were not so far advanced as the pupils at

234 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

Warrensville, but not so rough as those at the Ledge.
The neighbourhood was not so far advanced in the arts
of civiHzation as the region with which James had been
famiHar. Yet, he enjoyed school-keeping there; and his
connection with the families was pleasant. At the close
of the term he received many expressions of affection
and confidence from the pupils, and separated from them
with the best of feeling.

Mrs. Garfield was ready to return to Orange at the
close of the school : nor was James sorry to start on the
journey home. After an absence of over three months,
James found himself at the homestead with more money
than he had when he left.

XIX.

THE ECLECTIC INSTITUTE.

Several weeks would intervene before the commence-
ment of the term at Hiram ; and James looked about
for work that he might add to his funds for an educa-
tion. He was planning now to lay up money to assist
himself through college. He found jobs to occupy his
time fully until he would leave to enter the Eclectic
Institute.

It was the last of August, 185 1, when James reached
Hiram. The board of trustees was in session. Pro-
ceeding directly to the institution, he accosted the
janitor.

" I want to see the principal of the institute," he said.

" He is engaged with the board of trustees, who are
in session now," replied the janitor.

" Can I see him, or them .-*"

" Probably ; I will see." And the janitor went directly
to the room of the trustees, and announced, —

" A young man at the door, \vho is desirous to see
the board at once."

" Let him come in," answered the chairman.

James presented himself politely, though perhaps
awkwardly.

" Gentlemen," he said, " I am anxious to get an educa-
tion, and have come here to see what I can do."

"Well, this is a good place to obtain an education,"

236 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

answered the chairman, without waiting for James to
proceed further. " Where are you from ?"

" From Orange. My name is James Abram Gar-
field. I have no father ; he died when I was an infant.
My mother is widow Eliza Garfield."

"And you want what education this institution can
furnish ? "

" Yes, sir, provided I can work my way."

" Then you are poor } "

"Yes, sir; but I can work my way. I thought,
perhaps, that I could have the chance to ring the bell,
and sweep the floors, to pay part of my bills."

" How much have you been to school } "

"I have attended Geauga Seminary three years,
teaching school in the winter."

" Ah ! then you are quite advanced } "

"No, not very far advanced. I have commenced
Latin and Greek."

" Then you think of going to college ? "

" That is what I am trying for."

" I think we had better try this young man," said one
of the trustees, addressing the chairman. He was much
impressed by the earnestness and intelligence of the
applicant, and was in favour of rendering him all the
aid possible.

" Yes," answered the chairman ; " he has started out
upon a noble work, and we must help him all we can."

" How do we know that you can do the sweeping and
bell-ringing to suit us.?" inquired another trustee of
James.

" Try me — try me two weeks, and if it is not done to
your entire satisfaction I will retire without a word."
James' honest reply settled the matter.

James was nineteen years old at this time ; he became

THE ECLECTIC INSTITUTE. 237

twenty in the following November. So he was duly
installed bell-ringer and sweeper-general.

Hiram was a small, out-of-the-way town, twelve miles
from the railroad, the " centre " being at a cross-roads,
with two churches, and half a dozen other buildings.
The institution was located there to accommodate the
sons and daughters of the Western Reserve farmers.
President Hinsdale, who now presides over the college
(it was elevated to a college twelve or fifteen years ago),
says : " The Institute building, a plain but substantially
built brick structure, was put on the top of a windy hill,
in the middle of a corn-field. One of the cannon that
General Scott's soldiers dragged to the city of Mexico
in 1 847, planted on the roof of the new structure, would
not have commanded a score of farmhouses. Here
the school opened at the time Garfield was closing his
studies at Chester. It had been in operation two terms
when he offered himself for enrolment. Hiram fur-
nished a location, the board of trustees a building and
the first teachers, the surrounding country students, but
the spiritual Hiram made itself. Everything was new.
Society, traditions, the genius of the school, had to be
evolved from the forces of the teachers and pupils,
limited by the general and local environment. Let no
one be surprised when I say that such a school as this
was the best of all places for young Garfield. There
was freedom, opportunity, a large society of rapidly
and eagerly opening young minds, instructors who were
learned enough to instruct him, and abundant scope for
ability and force of character, of which he had a super-
abundance.

" Few of the students who came to Hiram in that day
had more than a district-school education, though some
bad attended the high schools and academies scattered

23S FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

over the country; so that Garfield, although he had
made but slight progress in the classics and the higher
mathematics previous to his arrival, ranked well-up
with the first scholars. In ability, all acknowledged that
he was the peer of any ; soon his superiority to all others
was generally conceded."

James sought an early opportunity to confer with the
principal.

" I want your advice as to my course of study," he
said. " My purpose is to enter college, and I want to
pursue the best way there."

" You want to make thorough work of it, as you go
along ? " the principal answered, by way of inquiry.

" Yes, sir, as thorough as possible. What I know I
want to know certainly^

" That is a good idea ; better take time, and master
everything as you go along. Many students fail be-
cause they are satisfied with a smattering of knowledge.
Be a scholar, or don't undertake."

" I agree with you perfectly, and I am ready to
accept your advice ; and will regulate my course accord-
ingly."

" Our regular preparatory course of study cannot be
improved, I think," continued the principal. " You can
pursue higher studies here, and enter college in advance
if you choose. But that can be determined hereafter.
At present, you can go on with the branches undertaken,
and time will indicate improvement and changes neces-
sai-y." .

'' It will be necessary for me to" labour some out of
school hours, in order to pay all my bills," added James.
" Then I would like to be earning something more to
help me through college."

" What do you propose to do ? "

THE ECLECTIC INSTITUTE. 239

" I can work on a farm, or in a carpenter's shop, or do
odd jobs at most anything that offers. I have already-
seen the carpenter here."

" Well, what prospect for work ? "

" After a few days he will have work for me, mostly
planing ; and that I have done more than anything in
the carpenter's line."

" You are fortunate to find work at once."

" I never have failed to find work, since I have been
dependent upon my own exertions."

"I hope you always will find work, that you may
realize the accomplishment of your object. I shall do
everything in my power to assist you, and do it with all
my heart."

" Thank you," responded James, grateful for the deep
interest the principal appeared to manifest in his wel-
fare.

He secured quarters in a room with four other
students, rather thick for the highest comfort, but " ne-
cessity multiplies bedfellows." Here he set about his
literary work with a zeal and devotion that attracted
attention. The office of bell-ringer obliged him to rise
very early ; for the first bell was rung at five o'clock.
The office of sweeper compelled him to be on the
alert at an early hour, also. Promptness was the leading
requirement of the youth who rang the bell. It must be
rung on the mark. A single minute too early, or too
late, spoiled the promptness. On the mark precisely y
was the rule. Nor was it any crosa to James. Prompt-
ness, as we have seen, was one of his born qualities. It
was all the same to him whether he arose at four or five
o'clock in the morning, or whether he must ring the bell
three or a dozen times a day. He adapted himself to
circumstances with perfect ease. Instead of bending to

240 FROM LOG-CABIN- TO WHITE HOUSE.

Circumstances, circumstances bent to him. He made
a good bell-ringer and sweeper, simply because it was
a rule with him to do everything well. One of his room-
mates said to him :

"Jim, I don't see but you sweep just as well as you
recite."

"Why shouldn't I?" James responded, promptly.

" Many people do important things best," replied his
schoolmate, "and a lesson is more important than
sweeping."

" You are heretical," exclaimed James. " If your
views upon other matters are not sounder than that, you
will not make a very safe leader. Sweeping, in its
place, is just as important as a lesson in Greek is, in
its place, and, therefore, according to your own rule,
should be done as well."

"You are right, Jim; I yield my heresy, like the
honest boy that I am."

" I think that the boy who would not sweep well,
would not study well," continued James. " There may
be exceptions to the rule ; but the rule is a correct one."

" I guess you are about right, Jim ; but my opinion
is that few persons carry out the rule. There are certain
things about which most people are superficial, however
thorough they may be in others."

" That may be true ; I shall not dispute you there,"
rejoined James ; " and that is one reason why so many
persons fail of success. They have no settled purpose
to be thorough. Not long ago I read, in the life of
Franklin, that he claimed, * thoroughness must be a
principle of action.' "

" And that is why you sweep as well as you study } "
interrupted the room-mate, in a complimentary tone.

" Yes, of course. And there is no reason why a person

THE ECLECTIC INSTITUTE, 241

should not be as thorough in one thing as in another.
I don't think it is any harder to do work well than it
is to half do it. I know that it is much harder to recite
a lesson poorly than to recite it perfectly."

" I found that out some time ago, to my mortification,"
rejoined the room-mate, in a playful manner. " There
is some fun in a perfect lesson, I confess, and a great
amount of misery in a poor one."

" It is precisely so with sweeping," added James.
"The sight of a half-swept floor would be an eyesore
to me all the time. It would be all of a piece with
a poor lesson."

" I could go the half-swept floor best," remarked the
room-mate.

" I can go neither best," retorted James, " since there
is no need of it."

James had told the trustees to try him at bell-ringing
and sweeping two weeks. They did ; and the trial was
perfectly satisfactory. He was permanently installed
in the position.

A person, now an esteemed clergyman, who acted
in the same capacity six or eight years after James did,
writes : " When I did janitor work, I had to ring a bell
at five o'clock in the morning, and another at nine
o'clock in the evening, and I think this had been an im-
memorial custom during school sessions. The work was
quite laborious, and much depended upon the prompt-
ness and efficiency of the person who handled the
bell-rope, as the morning had to be divided into equal
portions, after a large slice had been taken out of it for
the chapel exercises, which were always protracted to
uncertain lengths. It was annoying, tedious work."

A lady now living in the State of Illinois was a
member of the school when James was inaugurated

R

242 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

bell-ringer, and she writes ; " When he first entered
the institute, he paid for his schooling by doing janitor's
work, — sweeping the floor and ringing the bell. I can
see him even now standing, in the morning, with his
hand on the bell-rope, ready to give the signal calling
teachers and scholars to engage in the duties of the day.
As we passed by, entering the schoolroom, he had a
cheerful Avord for every one. He was the most popular
person in the institute. He was always good natured,
fond of conversation, and very entertaining. He was
witty, and quick at repartee ; but his jokes, though bril-
liant and striking, were always harmless, and he never
would willingly hurt another's feelings."

The young reader should ponder the words, " most
popular person in the institute," — and yet bell-ringer
and sweeper ! Doing the most menial work there was
to do with the same cheerfulness and thoroughness that
he would solve a problem in algebra ! There is an im-
portant lesson in this fact for the young. They can
afford to study it. The youth who becomes the most
''popular" student in the institution, notwithstanding
he rings the bell and sweeps the floors, must possess
unusual qualities. Doubtless he made the office of bell-
ringer and sweeper very respectable. We dare say that
some students were willing to serve in that capacity
thereafter Avho were not willing to serve before. Any
necessary and useful employment is respectable ; but
many youths have not found it out. The students dis-
covered the fact in the Eclectic Institute. They learned
it of James. He dignified the humble offices that he
filled. He did it by putting character into his work.

There were nearly two thousand volumes in the
library belonging to the school. From this treasury of
knowledge James drew largely. Every spare moment

THE ECLECTIC INSTITUTE, 243

of his time was occupied with books therefrom. He
began to be an enthusiastic reader of poetry at Geauga
Seminary. " Young's Night Thoughts," which he found
there, was the vokime that particularly impressed his
mind, just before h'e became a Christian under the
preaching of the Disciples' minister at Orange. His
tenacious memory retained much that he read, both of
poetry and prose. Here he had a wider field to explore,
more books to occupy his attention, though not more
time to read. He began to read topically and system-
atically.

" What are you doing with that book } " inquired a
room-mate ; " transcribing it ? "

" Not exactly, though I am making It mine as much
as possible," James replied. *' Taking notes."

" I should think that would be slow work."

" Not at all, the way I do."

" What way are you doing ? "

" I note the important topics on which the book
treuts, with the pages, that I may turn to any topic of
which it treats, should I have occasion hereafter. I
mean to do the same with every book I read, and
preserve the notes for future use."

" A good plan, if you have the patience. I want to
dash through a book at double-quick ; I couldn't stop
for such business," added the schoolmate.

" I spend no more time over a book than you do, I
think," answered James. " I catch the drift, and appro-
priate the strong points, and let all the rest slide. But
taking notes serves to impress the contents upon my
memory. Then, hereafter, when I speak or write upon
a given topic, my notes will direct me to necessary
material."

" Your immunltion will be ready ; all you will have

244 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

to do will be to load and fire," suggested his room-mate.
" That is not bad. I think the plan is a good cne."

" It will save much time in the long run. Instead oi
being obliged to hunt for information on topics, I can
turn to it at once." James remarked thus with an
assurance that showed his purpose was well matured.
He will testify to-day that the method adopted has
been one of the most helpful and important rules of his
life. Many scholars have pursued a similar course, and
their verdict respecting the usefulness of the plan is
unanimous. It is an excellent method for the young of
both sexes, whether they are contemplating a thorough
education or not ; for it will promote their intelligence,
and increase their general information. This result is
desirable in the humblest as well as in the highest
position. An intelligent, well-informed citizen adorns
his place. That honoured and lifted into respectability
the office of bell-ringer and sweeper at Hiram Institute
as we have seen.

When James had completed his collegiate course, and
became principal of Hiram Institute, he wrote to a
youth whom he desired should undertake a liberal
course of education :

" Tell me, Burke, do you not feel a spirit stirring
within you that longs to know to do and to darcy to hold
converse with the great world of thought, and holds
before you some high and noble object to which the
vigour of your mind and the strength of your arm may
be given } Do you not have longings like these, which
you breathe to no one, and which you feel must be
heeded, or you will pass through life unsatisfied and
regretful } I am sure you have them, and they will for
ever cling round your heart till you obey their mandate.
They are the voice of that nature which God has given

THE ECLECTIC INSTITUTE, ^ 245

you, and which, when obeyed, will bless you and your
fellow-men."

Whether Burke felt this " spirit stirring within him "
or not, it is certain that it moved James, as some mys-
terious power, when he entered this new field, and long
before, impelling him onward and upward in a career
that could not have been denied him without inflicting
an everlasting wound upon his soul.

In the spring, after James became connected with the
school, the principal proposed that the pupils should
bring trees from the forest, and set them out on the
Campus, to adorn the grounds, and provide a lovely
shade for those who would gather there twenty and
thirty years hence.

" A capital idea ! " exclaimed James to Baker, with
whom he was conferring upon the subject. " If each
male student will put out one tree for himself, and one
for a female student, we can cover the Campus with
trees, and the streets near by as well; and do it next
Saturday, too."

" That is real gallantry, Jim," answered Baker. "The
girls, of course, can't set out trees."

"And the boys will take pride in setting them out for
them," interrupted James.

"And calling them by their names," added Baker,
suggestively.

" A bright idea is that, to name the trees after those
for whom they are set out," responded James. "You
are an original genius, George; I should not have
thought of that. It must be because you think more
of girls than I do."

" But the plan to plant a tree for each girl is yours,
Jim. I can't claim the patent for that."

" I am not ashamed to own it. It is worthy of the

246 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

boys of the Western Reserve. We can have a rich time
in carrying out the plan, better than a ride or party."

" I think so," said Baker.

" The satisfaction of knowing we are doing something
that will be a great blessing thirty years from now,
adding beauty and comfort to the institute and town, is
stimulus enough," continued James.

This enterprise was nobly prosecuted, and the trees
were planted and named as above. James enjoyed it
hugely. He was a great admirer of nature, and a tree
or a flower afforded him genuine pleasure. To plant
trees about his favourite institution, that would furnish
shady walks in future days, was to him a privilege that
he would not willingly miss.

During his first year's connection with the school, a
female student of considerable brightness and scholar-
ship violated some rule of the institution, for which the
principal thought she should be publicly rebuked. The
rebu'ke would be administered after the chapel exercises
on the following morning. The affair caused much
discussion among the pupils. Their sympathies were
wholly enlisted for the girl, as she Avas deservedly
quite popular.

" It is most too bad," remarked James to a lady
student. " It will well-nigh kill her ; I pity her."

" I think it is a shame to make a small affair like that
so public," replied the young lady. " If it was one of
the boys, it would not be half so bad."

" You think boys are used to it, or are of less conse-
quence than girls.?" retorted James, in a vein of humour.

" Not exactly that. I think the worst way of rebuking
a young lady should not be selected."

" I agree with you exactly ; but I suppose there is no
help for it now."

THE ECLECTIC INSTITUTE, 247

" Unless we get up a petition asking that the rebuke
be privately administered."

"I will sign it," said James, "but it must be done
immediately."

** I will see some of the girls at once." And, so saying,
the young lady hastened away.

In many groups the matter was discussed en that
day, and much excitement prevailed ; but the movement
for a petition failed, and the following morning dawned
with the assurance that the rebuke would be ad-
ministered before the whole school. The scholars
assembled with hearts full of pity for the unfortunate
girl. No one felt more keenly for her than James. He
expected to see her overcome and crushed.

The principal called upon her to rise, and the rebuke
was administered, while all the scholars dropped their
heads in pity for her. She survived the ordeal. She
neither wept nor fainted. On retiring from the chapel,
with the crowd of scholars, she remarked to James, in
the hearing of many, — " It seems to me that Uncle
Sutherland was rather personal."

The jocose remark created a laugh all round, and
none laughed more heartily than James, who concluded
that their profound sympathies had been sadly wasted.

James had not been at Hiram long before the stu-
dents discovered one prominent trait of his character,
viz., a keen sense of justice. He was fond of ball-play-
ing, and he wanted everybody to enjoy it. One day he
took up the bat to enjoy a game, when he observed
several of the smaller boys looking on wistfully, seeming
to say in their hearts, we wish we could play.

" Are not those boys in the game ? " he asked.

" What ! those little chaps 1 Of course not ; they
would spoil the game."

248 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

" But they want to play just as much as we do. Let
them come in ! "

" No ; we don't want the game spoiled. They can't
play!"

" Neither shall I, if they cannot," added James,
decidedly. And he threw down his bat.

"Well, let them come, then,", shouted one of the
players, who wanted the game to go on. " Spoil it, if
you will."

" We shall make it livelier," responded James, taking
up his bat, and calling upon the little boys to fall in.
" We may not have quite so scientific a game, but then
all hands will have the fun of it ; and that is what the
game is for."

XX.

STUDENT AND TEACHER.

James ceased to be janitor at the close of his first year
at Hiram, and was promoted to assistant teacher of the
English department and ancient languages. His rapid
advancement is set forth by Dr. Hinsdale, who is now
president of the institution.

" His mind was now reaching out in all directions ;
and all the more widely because the elastic course of
study, and the absence of traditionary trammels, gave
him room. He was a vast elemental force, and nothing
was so essential as space and opportunity. Hiram was
now forming her future teachers, as well as creating her
own culture. Naturally, then, when he had been only
one year in the school he was given a place in the corps
of teachers. In the catalogue of 1853-54 his name
appears both with the pupils and teachers : * James
A. Garfield, Cuyahoga County,' and *J. A. Garfield,
Teacher in the English Department, and of the Ancient
Languages.' His admission to the faculty page may be
an index to a certain rawness in the school ; but it gave
to his talents and ambition the play that an older school,
with higher standards, could not have afforded him."

Now he was filling three important positions — student,
teacher, and carpenter. He had become nearly as in-
dispensable to the carpenter's business as to that of the

25© FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

institute. Tlie sound of his hammer, before and after
school, was familiar to the students and the citizens.

" See there ! " exclaimed Clark, pointing to James on
the roof of a house, building near the academy. " Jim
has taken that roof to shingle."

" Alone } " inquired Jones.

" Yes, alone ; and it won*t take him long, either, if
he keeps his hammer going as it goes now. Jim's a
brick."

''Very little brick about him, I should say; more
brain than brick."

"With steam enough on all the while to keep his
brain running. Did you ever see such a worker } "

" Never. Work seems as necessary to him as air and
food. If he was not compelled to work, in order to pay
his way, his brain would shatter his body all to pieces in
a year. He is about the only student I ever thought
was fortunate in being poor as a stray cat."

" I declare, I never thought of that. Poverty is a
blessing sometimes. I had thought it was a curse to
a student always."

" It is Jim's salvation," added Jones. " I have thought
of it many times. I suppose that his carpentering busi-
ness is better exercise for him than our ball-playing, or
pitching quoits."

" Minus the fun'' added Clark, quickly ; really be-
lieving that James was depriving himself of all first-
class sport. " Have you not observed how he enjoys a
game of ball or quoits when he joins us ? "

" Of course ; but he does not seem to me to enjoy
these games any more than he enjoys study, reading,
and manual labour. He studies just as he plays ball,
exactly, with all his might ; and I suppose that is the
way we all ought to do."

STUDENT AND TEACHER, 251

" That is what Father Bentley said in his sermon on,
' Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy
might' You remember it ? "

" Certainly ; and who knows but Father Bentley has
engaged Jim to illustrate his doctrine?" He preaches
and Jim practises. Nobody in the Eclectic Institute
will dispute such a sermon while Jim's about ; you can
count on that." The remark was made jocosely, and,
at the same, a compliment was intended for James.

This conversation discloses the facts about James'
manual labour while connected with the institute. We
have not space for the details of his work with the plane
and hammer during the whole period. We can only
say, here, once for all, that he continued to add to his
money by manual labour to the end of his three years
at Hiram. He planed all the siding of the new house
that he was shingling when the foregoing conversation
took place. His labour was expended upon other build-
ings, also, in the place, during that period. Several jobs
of farming, also, were undertaken at different times.
He was laying up money to assist himself in college, in
addition to paying his way at the institute.

When James entered the school his attention was
attracted to a class of three in geometry. As he listened
to the recitation in this study, which was animated and
sharp, he became particularly impressed. Since that
time he said, " I regarded teacher and class with reve-
rential awe." The three persons in the class were
William B. Hazen, who became one of our most dis-
tinguished major-generals in the late rebellion, and who
is now on the Indian frontier ; Geo. A. Baker, now a pro-
minent citizen of Cleveland, Ohio ; and Miss Almeda A.
Booth, a very talented lady of nearly thirty years, who
was teaching in the school, and at the same time pur-

252 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE BOUSE.

suing her studies in the higher mathematics and classics.
As this Miss Booth exerted a more powerful influence
upon James than any other teacher, except Dr. Mark
Hopkins, of Williams College, we shall speak of her
particularly, and her estimate of our hero. She was
the daughter of a Methodist preacher, whose circuit
extended a thousand miles on the Reserve ; a man of
marked mental strength, and of great tact and energy.
The daughter inherited her father's intellectual power
and force of character, so that when the young man to
whom she was betrothed died, she resolved to conse-
crate herself to higher intellectual culture, that her use-
fulness might be augmented. This resolution brought
her to the Eclectic Institute. She died in 1875, and
afterwards General Garfield said of her talents, " When
she was twelve years of age she used to puzzle her
teachers with questions, and distress them by correcting
their mistakes. One of these, a male teacher, who was
too proud to acknowledge the corrections of a child,
called upon the most learned man in town for help and
advice in regard to a point of dispute between them.
He was told that he was in error, and that he must ac-
knowledge his mistake. The teacher was manly enough
to follow this wise advice, and thereafter made this
little girl his friend and helper. It was like her to help
him quietly, and without boasting. During her whole
life none of her friends ever heard an intimation from
her that she had ever achieved an intellectual triumph
over anybody in the world."

It was fortunate for James that this accomplished lady
became deeply interested in his progress and welfare.

"The most remarkable young man I ever met," she
said to the principal. " There must be a grand future
before him."

STUDENT AND TEACHER, 253

" True, if he does not fall out of the way," answered
the principal.

** I scarcely thought that were possible when I spoke.
His Christian purpose is one of the remarkable things
about him. His talents, work, everything, appear to be
subject to this Christian aim. I feel that he will make
a power in the world."

" I agree with you : such are my feelings in regard to
him, notwithstanding the prevalence of temptations that
lure and destroy so many of our hopeful young men."
The principal had seen more of the world than Miss
Booth, so he spoke with less confidence.

James had not been connected with the school but
a few months before his studies were the same as those
of Miss Booth, and they were in the same classes. ^* I
was far behind Miss Booth in mathematics and the
physical sciences," he says now ; " but we were nearly in
the same place in Greek and Latin." She could render
him essential aid in his studies, and she delighted to do
it. Their studies were nearly the same until he ceased
to be a member of the school. The librarian kept text-
books for sale, and the following are his memoranda of
sales to them : —

"January, 1852. Latin Grammar and Caesar.

March, 1852. Greek Grammar.

April, 1852. French Grammar.

August, 1852. German Grammar and Reader.

November, 1852. Xenophon's Memorabilia and
Greek Testament."

All this in a single year.

"August, 1853. Sophocles and Herodotus.

November, 1853. Homer's Iliad."

During the fall term of 1853, Miss Booth and James
read about one hundred pages of Herodotus and one

254 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

hundred of Livy. They met two of the professors, also,
on two evenings of each week, to make a joint transla-
tion of the book of Romans. His diary has this record
for December 15, 1853 : "Translation society sat three
hours at Miss Booth's room, and agreed upon the trans-
lation of nine verses." The record shows that these
studies were pursued critically, and therefore slowly.

Miss Booth was more or less familiar with the standard
authors of English literature, both prose and poetry ;
and she aided James greatly in the selection of books,
many of which they read together, discussing their
merits, and making notes. In a tribute to her memory,
a few years since. General Garfield said : " The few spare
hours which school-work left us were devoted to such
pursuits as each preferred, but much study was done in
common. I can name twenty or thirty books, which
will be doubly precious to me because they were read
and discussed in company with her. I can still read
between the lines the memories of her first impressions
of the page, and her judgment of its merits. She was
always ready to aid any friend with her best efforts."

James was appointed to prepare a thesis for an exhi-
bition day. One evening he repaired to the room of
Miss Booth.

" I want your help, Miss Booth," he said. " I am
afraid that I shall make a botch of it without your
assistance."

" I will risk you," Miss Booth replied ; " but I will
render you all the assistance in my power."

" That will be all I shall need," remarked James, face-
tiously ; " and I hardly see how I can get along with
less. I like to talk over subjects before I write ; it is
a great help to me."

'* It is an essential help to everybody," answered Miss

I

STUDENT AND TEACHER. 255

Booth. " Two heads may be better than one in canvass-
ing any subject. Discussion awakens thought, sharper
and more original ; and it often directs the inquirer to
new and fresher sources of information. I am at leisure
to discuss your thesis at length."

So James opened the subject by stating some of his
difficulties, and making inquiries. Both were soon
absorbed in the subject before them, so thoroughly
absorbed as to take no note of time, nor dream that the
night was gliding away, until surprised by the morn-
ing light coming in at the window.

In 1853 Miss Booth proposed that twelve of the ad-
vanced pupils — James and herself among the number —
should organize a literary society for the purpose of
spending the approaching vacation of four weeks in a
more thorough study of the classics. The society was
formed, and the services of one of the professors were
secured, to whom they recited statedly. During that
vacation they read " the Pastorals of Virgil, the first six
books of the Iliad, accompanied by a thorough drill in
the Latin and Greek grammars at each recitation." It
proved a very profitable vacation to James, a season to
which he always looked back with pride and pleasure.
He regarded Miss Booth as the moving and controlling
spirit of that society, increasing his sense of obligation
to her.

Perhaps the chief reason of Miss Booth's confidence
in the Christian purpose of James, as expressed to the
principal, was found in his consistent Christian life.
From the time he became a member of the institute he
took an active part in the religious meetings, identifying
himself with the people of God in the village. His
exhortations and appeals were examples of earnestness
and eloquence, to which the students and citizens listened

256 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

in rapt attention. No student of so much power in
religious meetings had been connected with the school.
Indeed, it was the universal testimony that no such
speaker, of his age, had ever been heard.

Father Bentley, pastor of the Disciples' Church in
Hiram, was wonderfully drawn to James. After a few
months, he felt that James' presence was almost indis-
pensable to the success of a meeting. He invited him
specially to address the audience. Often he urged him
to take a seat upon the platform, that he might address
the assembly to better advantage. In his absence, he
invited James to take charge of the meeting. The last
year of his stay at Hiram, Father Bentley persuaded
him several times to occupy his pulpit on the Sabbath,
and preach, which he did to the gratification of the
audience.

His gift at public speaking was so remarkable, that
a demand was frequently made upon him for a speech
on social and public occasions. It is related, that, at
a weekly prayer-meeting, he was on the platform with
Father Bentley, waiting to perform his accustomed part,
when a messenger came for him to address a political
meeting, where speakers had failed them. Father Bent-
ley scarcely noticed what was going on, until James was
half-way down the aisle, when he called out :

" James, don't go ! " then quickly, as if thinking his
request might be unreasonable, he said to the congrega-
tion, " Never mind, let him go ; that boy will yet be
President of the United States."

" I remember his vigorous exhortations now," re-
marked a Christian woman recently, who was connected
with the institute at that time ; " they were different
from anything I was accustomed to hear in conference
meetings."

STUDENT AND TEACHER. 257

" How were they different ? " she was asked.

" They were original and fresh beyond anything I had
ever heard in such meetings ; nothing commonplace or
stale about them, making one feel that they were not
the thoughts of some commentator he was giving us
at second hand, but the product of his own genius and
great talents, uttered with real earnestness and sin-
cerity."

" He must have possessed a wonderful command of
language," remarked her friend.

" That was one thing that charmed us. His fiow of
language, appropriate and select, was like a river. It
seemed as if he had only to open his mouth, and
thoughts flowed out clothed in language that was all
aglow. Many, many times I heard the remark, *he
speaks as easily as he breathes.' Well," she continued,
after a pause, "he was substantially just such a speaker
then as he is now, bating the dignity that age and
experience impart."

In this connection we should speak of him as a
debater in the lyceum. He was older and more expe-
rienced at Hiram than he was at Chester, and his efforts
in debate were accordingly more manly. The Illinois
lady, from whom we have already quoted, says, " In the
lyceum he early took rank far above the others as a
speaker and debater." His interest in public matters
was growing with the excitement of the times. The in-
famous fugitive-slave law, for the restoration of runaway
slaves to their masters, had been enacted by Congress,
as a compromise measure, and no people of the country
felt more outraged by the attempts to enforce the
Act than the people of the Western Reserve. The
excitement became intense. Young men partook of it
in common with older citizens. It pervaded the higher

•2sS FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

schools. It was as strong in the Eclectic Institute ai
elsewhere. School and village lyceums received an im-
petus from it. James was an uncompromising foe to
slavery before ; if possible, he was more so now. The
excitement iired him up in debate. He was more
denunciatory than ever of slavery. He had been a great
admirer of Daniel Webster, but his advocacy of the
fugitive-slave bill awakened his contempt. He was not
a young man to conceal his feelings, and so his utter-
ance was emphatic.

" A covenant with death, and an agreement with hell,"
he exclaimed, quoting from Isaiah, " that will destroy
the authors of it. The cry of the oppressed and down-
trodden will appeal to the Almighty for retribution, like
that of the blood of Abel. The lightning of Divine
wrath will yet shiver the old, gnarled tree of slavery to
pieces, leaving neither root nor branch ! "

When James became assistant teacher, he had for a
pupil, in his Greek class. Miss Lucretia Rudolph, the
young lady in whom he was so much interested at
Chester. Her father removed to Hiram, in order to
give her a better opportunity to acquire a thorough
education.

James was glad to meet her ; and he was happy to
welcome so talented a scholar as pupil. He had no
expectation that she would ever stand in a closer rela-
tion to him than pupil. But the weeks and months
rolled on, and she became one of his permanent scholars,
not only in Greek, but in other branches as well ; in all
of them developing a scholarship that won his admira-
tion. At the same time her many social and moral
qualities impressed him, and the impression deepened
from month to month. The result was, before he closed
his connection with the school, that a mutual attachment

STUDENT AND TEACHER. 259

grew up between them, and she engaged to become his
wife when he had completed his course of study, and
was settled. He was twenty-two years of age, and Miss
Rudolph was one year his junior.

This was one of the most important steps that James
had taken, and it proved to be one of the most fortunate.
Those who prophesied that the engagement would inter-
fere with his studies did not fully understand or appre-
ciate the solidity of his character nor the inflexibility
of his purpose. Such love affairs are often deprecated
because so many young men allow them to interfere
with their life-purpose, thus disclosing weakness and
puerile ideas. With James the love affair became an
aid to the controlling purpose of his life, and, at the
same time, served to refine his coarser qualities by pass-
ing them through the fire of a pure and exalted passion.
True love is sweeter and higher than the brightest
talents, and when its pure and elevating influence refines
the latter they shine with a fairer lustre than ever. This
was eminently true of James.

Notwithstanding James was so bashful and retiring
when he first went to Chester to commence his studies,
he became one of the most social and genial students at
Hiram. He was the life of the social circle. Unlike
many ripe students, whose minds are wholly absorbed
in their studies, he could unbend himself, and enter into
a social occasion with zest, bringing his talents, his
acquisitions, his wit and humour, to contribute to the
enjoyment of all. The lady in Illinois, from whom we
have twice quoted, says on this point ;

" During the month of June the entire school went in
carriages to their annual grove meeting, at Randolph,
some twenty-five miles away. On this trip he was the
life of the party, occasionally bursting out in a*n eloquent

26o FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

strain at the sight of a bird, or a ti ailing vine, or a
venerable giant of the forest. He would repeat poetry
by the hour, having a very retentive memory."

The reader learns from this, that it was not " small
talk," nor mere slang and folly, that he contributed to a
social time, but sensible, instructive material. He had
no sympathy for, or patience with, young men who dab-
bled in silly or trifling conversation and acts, to enter-
tain associates. To him it was evidence of such inherent
weakness, and absence of common sense, that it aroused
his contempt. One who was intimate with him in social
gatherings at Hiram makes a remark that discloses an
important element of his popularity. " There was a
cordiality in his disposition which won quickly the
favour and esteem of others. He had a happy habit
of shaking hands, and would give a hearty grip, which
betokened a kind-hearted feeling for all." The same
writer says, what confirms the foregoing statements
respecting his recognised abilities, " In those days, both
the faculty and pupils were in the habit of calling him
* the second Webster,' and the remark was common, * He
will fill the White House yet' "

There was one branch of the fine arts that he pursued,
to gratify a taste in that direction, which should receive
a passing notice. It was mezzotint drawing. He be-
came so proficient in the art that he was appointed
teacher of the same. The lady from whom we have-
quoted was one of his pupils, and she writes :

" One of his gifts was that of mezzotint drawing, and
he gave instruction in this branch. I was one of his
pupils in this, and have now the picture of a cross, upon
which he did some shading and put on the finishing
touches. Upon the margin is written, in the hand of
the noted teacher, his own name and his pupil's. There

STUDENT AND TEACHER. 261

are, also, two other drawings, one of a large European
bird on the bough of a tree, and the other a churchyard
scene in winter, done by him at that time."

Thus the versatility of his talents, enforced by his
intense application, appeared to win in almost any
undertaking. Without his severe application, his versa-
tility would not have availed much. He reduced that
old maxim thoroughly to practice, " Accomplish or
never attempt," because his application was invincible.
Here was the secret of his success in teaching, — just as
good a teacher as scholar. Before the completion of his
academic course the trustees made his success a subject
of serious consideration.

" We must secure his return to Hiram as soon as
he gets through college," said the chairman. " He will
make a popular and successful professor."

" That is true," replied another trustee. ** In what
department would you put him } "

"Any department that is open. He will fill any
position admirably. I have noticed that when we con-
clude that he is particularly suited to one position, he
soon surprises us by filling another equally well."

" It will certainly be for the popularity of the school
to install him over a prominent professorship here,'*
added the chairman ; " and I daresay it will be agree-
able to his feelings."

The subject was not dropped here. Both the prin-
cipal and chairman of the board interviewed James upon
the subject ; and when he left the institute for college, it
was well understood that he would return at the close of
his college course. The present president of the insti-
tution says :

" I shall not here speak of him as a teacher further
than to say, in two years' service he had demonstrated

262 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

his great ability in that capacity, had won the hearts of
the students generally, and had wrought in the minds of
the school authorities the conviction that his further ser-
vices would be indispensable on his return from college."

On his success as a teacher, when preparing for col-
lege, the Illinois lady, who was his pupil, writes :

"He was a most entertaining teacher, — ready with
illustrations, and possessing, in a marked degree, the
power of exciting the interest of the scholars, and after-
ward making clear to them the lessons. In the arith-
metic class there were ninety pupils, and I cannot
recollect a time when there was any flagging in the in-
terest. There were never any cases of unruly conduct,
or a disposition to shirk. With scholars who were slow
of comprehension, or to whom recitations were a burden,
on account of their modest or retiring disposition, he
was specially attentive, and by encouraging words and
gentle assistance would manage to put all at their ease,
and awaken in them a confidence in themselves."

A leading lawyer of Cleveland, Ohio, Hon. J. H.
Rhodes, referring to his connection with the school, at
ihe time James was studying and teaching, in a public
assembly, said :

" I remember a circumstance that had much to do
with my remaining at Hiram. I was a little home-sick,
and one day I went into the large hall of the college
building, and the tall, muscular, tow-headed man in
charge there, who was teaching algebra, came up to me,
and, seeing a cloud over my face, threw his arms about
me in an ardent way. Immediately the home-sickness
disappeared. The tow-headed man has not so much
hair to-day as he had then. Hard knocks in public life
have uprooted a heap of his hair."

** Going to Bethany College, I suppose," remarked the

STUDENT AND TEACHER, 263

principal to him. That was the college established by
Alexander Campbell, founder of the sect called Disciples.

" I had intended to go there until recently," James
answered.

" What has changed your purpose ? That college is
of our denomination, you know.".

"Yes, I know; but I have been thinking that it
might be better for me to enlarge my observation by
going beyond our sect."

*' That may be ; you want more room, do you t "

" I know the Disciples' Church pretty well. Perhaps
I had better know something outside of it. It seems
narrow to me to tie myself down to the limits of my
own denomination. Besides, will it not be of real value
to me to connect myself with a New England college ? "

" Perhaps so ; I agree with you in the main ; too
contracted a sphere will not be well for you. That idea
is well worth considering. You will be qualified to
enter college two years in advance; at least, you can
enter some colleges two years in advance. What college
have you in mind ? "

" I have not decided upon any particular one yet. I
am going to write to Yale College, Williams College,
and Brown University, stating the ground I have been
over, and inquiring whether I can enter Junior, learning
the expense, and other things."

" That is a good plan. Then you will know definitely
where to go, and you can prepare accordingly."

James did write to the presidents of Yale College,
New Haven, Ct. ; Williams College, Williamstown, Mass. ;
and to the president of Brown University, Providence,
R. I., also ; and each one of the presidents replied to his
inquiries. The substance of the answers, together with
his decision, may be learned from a letter that James

264 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

wrote to a friend one week before he started for college,
as follows :

" There are three reasons why I have decided not to
go to Bethany : First, the course of study is not so
extensive or thorough as in eastern colleges ; second,
Bethany leans too heavily toward slavery ; third, I am
the son of Disciple parents, am. one myself, and have
had but little acquaintance with people of other views,
and having always lived in the West, I think it will make
me more liberal, both in my religious and general views
and sentiments, to go into a new circle, where I shall be
under new influences. These considerations led me to
conclude to go to some New England college. I there-
fore wrote to the presidents of Brown University, Yale,
and Williams, setting forth the amount of study I had
done, and asking how long it would take me to finish
their course.

" Their answers are now before me. All tell me I can
graduate in two years. They are all brief, business
notes, but President Hopkins concludes with this
sentence : * If you come here, we shall be glad to do
what we can for you.' Other things being so nearly
equal, this sentence, which seems to be a kind of friendly
grasp of the hand, has settled the question for me. I
shall start for Williams next week."

James always did like to have people carry their
hearts in their hands, as he did ; and Dr. Hopkins came
so near to it that he put his heart into his pen, when he
wrote, and James accepted his hearty hand-shake.

" How is it, James, about funds } You cannot have
enough money laid up for your college expenses." His
brother said this to him several weeks before he closed
his studies at Hiram, just at the time when James was
revolving the subject with some anxiety. True, he had

STUDENT AND TEACHER, 265

trusted to Providence so much, and Providence had
provided for him so unexpectedly at times, and so gener-
ously always, that he was disposed to trust for the
wherewith to pay expenses in college. His brother's
question was timely. He always thought that Providence
managed the affair.

**No, I have not more than half enough," James
replied ; " but I shall teach in the winter, and perhaps
I can find some kind of labour to perform in term-time,
I always have been able to pay my way."

"But if you enter two years in advance, I would
not advise you to labour in term-time. You will have
enough to do."

" How can I pay my way unless I do work } "

" I will lend you money to meet your expenses ? "

" And wait long enough for me to pay it ? "

" Yes. When you get through college you can teach,
and it will not take you long to pay the debt."

"Suppose I should die; where will you get your pay.?"

" That is my risk."

" It ought not to be your risk. It is not right that
you should lose the money on my account."

" It is if I consent to it."

"It occurs to me," continued James, after a pause,
" that I can arrange it in this way. You can lend me
the money, and I will get my life insured for five hundred
dollars. This will protect you in case of my death."

" I will agree to that, if it suits you any better."

" Well, it does. I shall be satisfied with that method ;
and I shall be relieved of some anxiety. I want to
make my two years in college the most profitable of any
two years of my course of study."

James took out an insurance upon his life, and when
he carried it to his brother he remarked :

2G6 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

" If I live I shall pay you, and if I die you will suffer
no loss."

What James accomplished during the three years
he was at Hiram Institute may be briefly stated thus :
The usual preparatory studies, requiring four years,
together with the studies of the first two years in college,
— the studies of six years in all, — he mastered in three
years. At the same time he paid his own bills by
janitor and carpenter work, and teaching, and, in
addition, laid up a small amount for college expenses.

XXI.

IN COLLEGE.

At the close of the summer term at Wilh'ams College,
candidates for admission, who presented themselves,
were examined. James presented himself to Dr.
Hopkins very different, in his personal appearance, from
the well-worded and polished letter that he wrote to
him. One describes him "As a tall, awkward youth,
with a great shock of light hair, rising nearly erect from
a broad, high forehead, and an open, kindly, and thought-
ful face, which showed no trace of his long struggle
with poverty and privation."" His dress was thoroughly
Western, and very poor at that. It was evident to Dr.
Hopkins that the young stranger before him did not
spend much time at his toilet ; that he cared more for
an education than he did for dress. Of course Dr.
Hopkins did not recognise him.

" My name is Garfield, from Ohio," said James. That
was enough. Dr. Hopkins recalled the capital letter
which the young man wrote. His heart was in his hand
at once, and he repeated the cordial hand-shake that
James felt when he read in the doctor's letter, " If you
come here, we shall be glad to do what we can for you."
James felt at home at once. It was such a kind, fatherly
greeting, that he felt almost as if he had anived home.

He never had a natural father whom he could remember,

267

268 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

but now he had found an intellectual father, sure, and
he was never happier in his life. Yet a reverential awe
possessed his soul as he stood before the president of
the college, whose massive head and overhanging brow
denoted a giant in intellect. James was perfectly satis-
fied that he had come to the right place now ; he had
no wish to be elsewhere. He had read Dr. Hopkins'
Lectures on the " Evidences of Christianity," and now the
author impressed him just as the book did when he read
it. The impression oi greatness was uppermost.

James passed the examination without any difficulty,
and was admitted to the Junior class. Indeed, his
examination was regarded as superior. He was quali-
fied to stand abreast with the Juniors, who had spent
Freshman and Sophomore years in the colleges. And
this fact illustrates the principle of tJioroughnesSy for
which we have said James was distinguished. In a
pfreat measure he had been his own teacher in the ad-
vanced studies that he must master in order to enter the
Junior class ; yet he was thoroughly prepared.

"You can have access to the college library if you
remain here during the summer vacation," said Dr.
Hopkins to him. "If you enjoy reading, you will have
a good opportunity to indulge your taste for it."

"I shall remain here during vacation, and shall be
thankful for the privilege of using the library," answered
James. " I have not had the time to read what I desire,
hitherto, as I have had to labour and teach, to pay my
bills. It will be a treat for me to spend a few weeks in
reading, with nothing else to do."

Dr. Hopkins gave him excellent advice, and words of
encouragement, not only for vacation, but for term-time
as well ; and James found himself revelling among books,
within a few days. He had never seen a library of such

JN COLLEGE. 269

dimensions as that into which he was npw introduced,
and his voracious mental appetite could now partake of
a "square meal." One of the authors whom he desired
to know was Shakespeare. He had read only such
extracts from his writings as he had met with in other
volumes. Therefore he took up a volume containing
Shakespeare's entire works with peculiar satisfaction.
He read and studied it, studied and read it, committing
portions of it to memory, and fairly made the contents
of the book his own. His great familiarity with the
works of Shakespeare dates from that period. Certain
English poets, also, he read and studied, for the first
time ; and he committed a number of poems to memory,
which he can repeat to-day. Works of fiction he re-
jected from principle. When he joined the Disciples*
Church, he resolved to read no novels. His decision was
in accordance with the practice of that Church. On the
whole, that vacation in the college library was a very
profitable one to James. It was just what he needed
after so many years of hard study in the sciences and
classics.

It was well for him, too, to be relieved from the strain
of study and pecuniary support that had taxed him
heavily from the outset. He had no carpenter's job on
hand, or class to teach, for his support. For exercise,
the beauty and grandeur of the scenery lured him into
the fields and over the mountains. The wild, moun-
tainous country around presented a striking contrast
with the level, monotonous landscape of the Western
Reserve. He enjoyed explorations of the region;
climbing Greylock to its summit that he might take in
the view, plunging into forests, and ranging fields, until
the country for miles around was almost as familiar to
him as Orange township, Ohio. By the time the college

270 FROM LOG-CAB m TO WHITE HOUSE.

term opened, he was as familiar with the locality as any
of the students.

" Hill, what do you think of that Westerner ? " said
one of the juniors to his classmate, Hill, a few days after
the term began. "Got acquainted with him ?"

*' Not exactly ; haven't had time yet. Have you } "

"A little acquainted ; not much, though."

"He is not a slave to Xht fashions^ I conclude ;" allud-
ing to his rather uncouth dress.

" No ; he gives tailors a wide berth, in my judgment :
but he is none the worse for that. Put him into a tasty
garb, and he would be a splendid-looking fellow."

"That's so; but neither his character nor scholarship
would be improved by the change. If dress would
improve these, some of our fellows would patronize
tailors more than butchers, a great deal."

"I think I shall like him, judging from a slight ac-
quaintance. A little Western in his speech."

" Western provincialisms } "

" Yes ; though not bad. Evidently he is one of the
fellows who will go through thick and thin to acquire an
education. There must be considerable in him, or he
never could enter a New England college two years in
advance, especially if he prepared at the West."

" Do you know where, in the West, he fitted for col-
lege } "

" At a little place on the Western Reserve somewhere ;
an academy that belongs to a sect called Disciples. So
one of the boys says."

" Disciples ! I never heard of that sect before, except
the one in New Testament times. A disciple will work
in well here ; " trying to be humorous.

This conversation shows quite well the circumstances
in which James was brought into contact with the

I

LV COLLEGE. 271

students. That they should scrutinize his apparel and
appearance is not strange. James expected that, and
the thought caused him some embarrassment. He
knew very well that his dress must appear shabby to
young men who consulted tailors, and that his speech
was marred by provincialisms that must sound queerly
to them. So he very naturally dreaded the introduc-
tion to college life. Yet he proved as much of a philo-
sopher here as elsewhere, and made the best of the
situation. He was happily disappointed in his inter-
course with students. He found no pride or caste
among them. They treated him kindly, and gave him
a hearty welcome to their companionship. Within a
few weeks he ranked among the " best fellows " of the
college. The college boys soon found that the " Great
West " had turned out a great scholar ; that the student
who had the least to do with tailors was a rare fellow ;
and they treated him accordingly. James never had
any reason to complain of his treatment by the faculty
and students of Williams College.

" He is one of the most accurate scholars I ever
knew," said Hill to Leavitt, some weeks after James
entered college; "he never misses anything, and he
never fails to answer a question."

"That is because he knows it all," replied Leavitt.
" He gave me some account of his methods of study in
preparing for college. He did it all himself, pretty
much. He sticks to anything until he understands it
fully ; that gives him the advantage now. He is one of
the best-read students in college, and all that he ever
read is at his tongue's end."

" He showed that in the debate last Saturday," con-
tinued Hill. " His ability as a debater is superior ;
nobody in this college can compete with him/* Refer*

272 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

ence was here made to a debate in the Philologian
society of the college.

"A born speaker, I think. It is just as easy for him
to speak as it is to recite ; and that is easy enough."

"I predict," continued Hill, "that he will stand at the
head of our class, notwithstanding he entered two years
in advance."

" It looks so now. * All signs fail in a dry time,' it is
said, but the signs certainly point that way."

That these young men were not partial, or mistaken,
in their estimate of James, is evident from the following
communication, penned by a classmate recently, after
the lapse of twenty-five years :

" In a class of forty or more he immediately took a
stand above all others for accurate scholarship in every
branch, but particularly distinguishing himself as a
writer, reasoner, and debater. He was remarkable for
going to the bottom of every subject which came before
him, and seeing and presenting it in entirely a new
light. His essays written at that time, not of the
commonplace character too common in college com-
positions, can even now be read with pleasure and
admiration. While an indefatigable worker, he was by
no means a bookworm or recluse, but one of the most
companionable of men, highly gifted, and entertaining
in conversation, ready to enjoy and give a joke, and
having a special faculty for drawing out the knowledge
of those with whom he conversed, thus enriching his
own stock of information from the acquirements of
others. Even then he showed that magnetic power,
which he now exhibits in a remarkable degree in public
life, of surrounding himself with men of various talents,
and of employing each to the best advantage in his
sphere. When questions for discussion arose in the

IN COLLEGE.

273

college societies, Garfield would give eaclfi of his allies a
point to investigate ; books and documents from all the
libraries would be overhauled ; and the mass of facts
thus obtained being brought together, Garfield would
analyse the whole, assign each of the associates his part,
and they would go into the battle to conquer. He was
always in earnest, and persistent in carrying his point,
often against apparently insurmountable obstacles ; and
in college election contests (which are often more in-
tense than national elections) he was always successful."

James had taxed himself so long to his utmost
capacity by advanced and extra studies, crowding six
years' labour into three, that it was easy for him now
to lead his class. He did add German to the regular
studies of the college, and he became so proficient in it
within one year, that he could converse considerably
in the language. But all this was little labour in com-
parison with his work at Hiram. He found much time
to read, and to engage in the sports of the Campus.
The latter he enjoyed with a keen relish ; no one
entered into them more heartily than he did. His
college mates now recall with what enthusiasm he par-
ticipated in their games. This was indispensable for his
health now, as he had no labour with plane or hammer
to perform.

The Williams Quarterly was a magazine supported
by the college. James took great interest in it, and his
compositions frequently adorned its pages, both prose
and poetry. The following was from his pen in 1854 :

"AUTUMN.
" Old Autumn, thou art here ! Upon the earth
And in the heavens the signs of death are hung ;
For o'er the earth's brown breast stalks pale decay
And 'mong the lowering clouds the wild winds wail

1?4 PROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

And sighing sadly, shout the solemn dirge

O'er Summer's fairest flowers, all faded now.

The Winter god, descending from the skies,

Has reached the mountain tops, and decked their brows

With glittering frosty crowns, and breathed his breatli

Among the trumpet pines, that herald forth

His coming

" Before the driving blast
The mountain oak bows down his hoary head,
And flings his withered locks to the rough gales
That fiercely roar among his branches bare.
Uplifted to the dark, unpitying heavens.
The skies have put their mourning garments on,
And hung their funeral drapery on the clouds.
Dead Nature soon will wear her shroud of snow,
And lie entombed in Winter's icy grave !

** Thus passes life. As heavy age comes on
The joys of youth — bright beauties of the Spring —
Grow dim and faded, and the long, dark night
Of death's chill winter comes. But as the Spring
Rebuilds the ruined wrecks of Winter's waste,
And cheers the gloomy earth with joyous light,
So o'er the tomb the star of hope shall rise,
And usher in an ever-during day."

"Garfield, what are you going to do with yourself
this vacation ? " inquired Bolter, just as the fall term
was closing.

" I am considering that question now. How should I
make it teaching penmanship, do you think ? "

"You would do well at it; and the vacation is long
enough for you to teach about ten lessons."

James was" a good penman, for that day, and he had
taken charge of a writing- class in school, for a time.
iThe style of his penmanship would not be regarded with
favour now by teachers in that department ; neverthe-

IN COLLEGR. 275

less, it was a broad, clear, business style, that country
people, at least, were then pleased with.

"Think I could readily get a class?" continued
James.

" No doubt of it. Strike right out into the country
almost anywhere, and you will find the way open."

" I am quite inclined to take a trip into New Hamp-
shire to see what I can do. I have some distant rela-
tives there : my mother was born there."

" Well, if you go where your mother was born, you
will not be likely to get into bad company, though there
is enough of it in New Hampshire."
. "Acquainted there .? "

*' As much as I want to be. There is too much of the
pro-slavery democracy there for me ; but they need to
improve their penmanship awfully, Garfield. It v/on't
interfere with your business."

The conversation proceeded in a kind of semi-jovial
way until the bell rang for recitation. The upshot was
that James opened a writing-school in Pownal, Vermont,
instead of in New Hampshire. He met with some
party who directed his steps to this small town, where
he taught a large class in penmanship, in the village
school-house. It proved a profitable venture to him,
both financially and socially. He added quite a little
sum to his private treasury, besides making many warm
friends and enlarging the sphere of his observation and
experience.

As he spent the next winter vacation in New York
State, we may relate the circumstances here. He went
to Poestenkill, a country village about six miles from
Troy, N. Y., where there was a Disciples' Church, over
which a preacher by the name of Streeter was settled.
Here he opened a school of penmanship, thereby earn-

276 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

ing a few dollars, in addition to paying his expenses.
His efforts in the religious conference meeting were so
marked that the pastor invited him to occupy his pulpit
on the Sabbath ; and the invitation was accepted.
Having preached once, the people demanded that he
should preach again ; and he did. It was the common
opinion that "he would become the most renowned
preacher in the Disciples' Church," no one doubting that
he was expecting to fill the sacred office.

James became acquainted with several of the teachers
and school committee at Troy, and when he was there
one day, Rev. Mr. Brooks, one of the committee, sur-
prised him by saying, —

" We have a vacancy in the high-school, and I would
like to have you take the situation. It is an easy place,
and a good salary of twelve hundred dollars."

" You want me to begin now, I suppose ? "

" Yes ; next week the term begins."

" I should be obliged to relinquish the idea of gradua-
ting at Williams."

" That would be necessary, of course ; and perhaps
that may be best for you."

" No ; it seems best for me to graduate, at any rate ;
that has been my strong desire for several years, and to
abandon the purpose now, when I am just on the eve of
realizing my hopes, would be very unwise."

" You understand your own business best," continued
Mr. Brooks ; " but we should be very glad to employ
you, and only wish that you could see it for your interest
to accept our proposition."

" There is another difficulty in the way," James re-
plied. " I feel under some obligations to Hiram Institute,
where I prepared for college. There was no bargain
with me, and yet the trustees expect me to return, and

IN COLLEGE. 277

take a position as teacher. That is a young institution,
struggling to live, and I have a desire to give my small
influence to it."

" You need not decide to-day ; think of it longer ; you
may view the matter differently after a little thought,''
Mr. Brooks urged.

" No ; I may just as well decide now. Your offer is a
tempting one ; I could soon pay my debts on that salary.
I cannot expect any such salary at Hiram, and I thank
you with all my heart for the offer. But my ambition
has been to win an honourable diploma at an Eastern
college, and then devote my energies to the institute
that has done so much for me. I must decline your
alluring offer."

James arrived at this decision quickly, because accept-
ing the offer would interfere with the accomplishment
of the great purpose of his life. He had no difficulty,
at any time, in rejecting any proposition that came
between him and a collegiate education.

His refusal of the tempting offer was the more remark-
able because he was in straitened circumstances at the
time. His brother, who had promised to lend him
money, had become embarrassed, so that further aid
from that quarter was out of the question. He needed
a new suit of clothes very much, but he had not the
money to purchase them. One of his friends in Poes-
tenkill, knowing this, went to a tailor of his acquaintance
in Troy, Mr. P. S. Haskell, and said :

" We have a young man in our village, a rare fellow,
who is poor, but honest, and he wants a suit of clothes.
He is struggling to go through Williams College,
and finds it hard sleddin'. Can you do anything for
him .? "

" Yes ; I am willing to help such a young man to a

278 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

suit of clothes. I will let him have a suit of clothes on
credit," the tailor replied, promptly.

" You will get every cent of your pay in time, I'm sure
of that. The young man preaches some now, and he
preaches grandly."

" What is his name ? "

"James A. Garfield. His home is in Ohio."

" Well, send him along."

On the following day James called upon the tailor,
frankly told him his circumstances, and promised to pay
him for the clothes as early as possible. He could not
fix the date.

" Very well," said Mr. Haskell, who was thoroughly
pleased with James' appearance. "Take your own
time ; don't worry yourself about the debt. Go on with
your education ; and when you have some money that
you have no other use for, pay me." James got his suit
of clothes, returned to college, and paid the debt in due
time, to the entire satisfaction of the tailor.

After returning to college, James looked about for
pecuniary relief. Debts on his second year had already
accumulated, and now it was certain that he would
receive no loans to meet them from his brother. He
thought of the cordial and friendly doctor who examined
him about six years before, and encouraged him to
acquire an education, — Dr. J. P. Robinson, now of
Cleveland, Ohio. He sat down and wrote to the jolly
doctor, stating his pressing wants and future purposes,
telling him of. his life insurance, and of his expected
connection with Hiram Institute as teacher, when he
would be able to liquidate the debt. It is enough to
say that Dr. Robinson cheerfully lent him the money.

At the close of his first collegiate year, James visited
his mother in Ohio. She was then living with her

IN COLLEGE. 279

daughter, who was married and settled in Solon. It
is not necessary to rehearse the details of this visit, the
reader can imagine the mutual joy it occasioned much
better than we can describe it. Imagination cannot
exaggerate the satisfaction his mother found in meeting
her son again, so near the ministry, where she had come
to think his field of usefulness would be found.

In college James' anti-slavery sentiments grew stronger,
if possible. Charles Sumner was in Congress, dealing
heavy blows against slavery, assailing the fugitive-slave
bill with great power and effect, claiming that " free-
dom is national, and slavery sectional," denouncing the
"crime against Kansas," and losing no opportunity to
expose the guilt and horrors of Southern bondage. Out-
side of Congress he made speeches, urging that the Whig
party should attack and overthrow American slavery.
James admired the fearless, grand public career of
Sumner, and also despised the criminal support the De-
mocratic party gave to slavery, and the truckling, timid,
compromising course of the leaders of the Whig party.
Then, in the fall of 1855, John Z. Goodrich, who was a
member of Congress from western Massachusetts, de-
livered a political address in Williamstown upon the
history of the Kansas-Nebraska struggle, and the efforts
of the handful of Republicans then in Congress to defeat
the Missouri compromise. James was profoundly im-
pressed by the facts and logic of that speech, and he
said to a classmate, on leaving the hall, —

"This subject is new to me ; I am going to know all
about it."

He sent for documents, studied them thoroughly, and
was fully prepared to join the new Republican party,
and the nomination of John C. Fremont for president of
the Uitited States. The students called a meeting in

2So FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

support of Fremont, and James was invited to address
them. The scope and power of his speech, packed with
facts and history, showed that he had canvassed the
subject with his accustomed ability ; and even his class-
mates, who knew him so well, were surprised.

"The country will hear from him yet, and slavery
will get some hard knocks from him," remarked a class-
mate.

Just afterwards the country was thrown into the
greatest excitement by the cowardly attack of Preston
Brooks, of South Carolina, upon Charles Sumner. En-
raged by his attacks upon slavery, and urged forward,
no doubt, by Southern ruffians, Brooks attacked him
with a heavy cane, while Sumner was writing at his
desk in the United States senate. Brooks intended to
kill him on the spot, and his villainous purpose was
viearly accomplished.

On receipt of the news at Williams College, the stu-
dents called an indignation meeting, at which James,
boiling over with indignant remonstrance against such
an outrage, delivered the most telling and powerful
speech that had fallen from his lips up to that time.
His fellow-students listened with wonder and admiration.
They were so completely charmed by his fervour and
eloquence that they sat in breathless attention until he
closed, when their loud applause rang through the build-
ing, repeated again and again in the wildest enthusiasm.

" The uncompromising foe to slavery ! " exclaimed
one of his admirers.

" Old Williams will be prouder of her student than
she is to-day, even," remarked another.

And many were the words of surprise and gratification
expressed, and many the prophecies concerning the
future renown of young Garfield.

IN COLLEGE. 281

We said that James rejected fiction from his reading
on principle. When about half through his college
course, he found that his mind was suffering from excess
of solid food. Mental dyspepsia was the consequence.
His mind was not assimilating what he read, and was
losing its power of application. He was advised to read
fiction moderately. " Romance is as valuable a part of
intellectual food as salad of a dinner. In its place, its
discipline to the mind is equal to that of science in its
place." He finally accepted the theory, read one volume
of fiction each month, and soon found his mind returning
to its former elasticity. Some of the works of Walter
Scott, Cooper, Dickens, and Thackeray, not to mention
others, became the cure of his mental malady. His
method of taking notes in reading was systematically
continued in college. Historical references, mythological
allusions, technical terms, and other things, not well
understood at the time, were noted, and afterwards looked
up in the library, so that nothing should remain doubtful
or obscure in his mind. "The ground his mind tra-
versed he carefully cleared and ploughed before leaving
it for fresh fields."

James graduated in 1856, bearing off the honours of
his class. Dr. Hopkins had established the " metaphysi-
cal oration " as the highest honour at Commencement,
and James won it, by the universal consent of the faculty
and students. In the performance of his part at Com-
mencement, he fully sustained his well-earned reputation
for scholarship and eloquence. Both teachers and class-
mates fully expected, when he left college, that his name
would appear conspicuously in the future history of his
country.

Dr. Hopkins wrote of him, eight years after James
graduated ;

282 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

"The course of General Garfield has been one which
the young men of the country may well emulate. . . .
A rise so rapid in both civil and military life is, perhaps,
without example in the country. . . . Obtaining his
education almost wholly by his own exertions, and
having reached the age when he could fully appreciate
the highest studies. General Garfield gave himself to
study with a zest and delight wholly unknown to those
who find in it a routine. A religious man, and a man of
principle, he pursued, of his own accord, the ends pro-
posed by the institution. He was prompt, frank, manly,
social, in his tendencies ; combining active exercise with
habits of study, and thus did for himself what it is the
object of a college to enable every young man to do, —
he made himself a MAN. There never was a time when
we more needed those who would follow his example."

Mr. Chadbourne, who is now president of Williams
College, and who was professor when James was a stu-
dent, writes :

"He graduated in 1856, soon after I began my work
here as professor. The students who came under my
instruction then made a much stronger impression upon
me than those of a later day, since my attention has
been called to other interests than those of the lecture
room. But Garfield, as a student, was one who would
at any time impress himself upon the memory of his
instructors, by his manliness and excellence of character.
He was one whom his teachers would never suspect as
guilty of a dishonest or mean act, and one whom a dis-
honest or mean man would not approach. College life
is, in some respects, a severe test of character. False
notions of honour often prevail among students, so that,
under sanction of " college custom," things are sometimes
done by young men which they would scorn to do in

IN COLLEGE. 283

Other places. There was a manliness and honesty about
Garfield that gave him power to see and do what was
for his own good, and the honour of the college. His
life as a student was pure and noble. His moral and
religious character, and marked intellectual ability, gave
great promise of success in the world. His course since
he entered active life has seemed to move on in the same
line in which he moved here. He has been distinguished
for hard work, clear insight into great questions of public
interest, strong convictions, and manly courage. I know
of no better example among our public men of success
fairly won."

XXII.

RETURN TO HIRAM.

The trustees of Hiram Institute elected Garfield
" Teacher of Ancient Languages and Literature " before
his return to the school. His welcome back was a
hearty one. His acceptance of the position was equally
hearty.

His position was now a high and honourable one,
although he was but nine years removed from the tow-
path of the Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal. Into that
nine years was crowded labours, struggles, and triumphs,
the like of which we can scarcely find in the annals of
human effort.

" I have attained to the height of my ambition," he
said to a friend. "I have my diploma from an Eastern
college, and my position here as instructor ; and now I
shall devote all my energies to this institute."

He had no intention of entering the ministry perma-
nently, as many supposed, nor had he aspirations for a
political career. He was content to be a teacher at
Hiram, ambitious to make the school the pet of the
Western Reserve, if possible. He might have secured
positions where double the salary was paid ; but he was
satisfied to teach at Hiram for eight hundred dollars a
year. No board of trustees could lure him away by the

88t

RETURN TO HIRAM. 285

offer of a princely income. His heart was at Hiram
and he meant that his best efforts should be there.

He brought from Williams College a profound rever-
ence for Dr. Hopkins, the president, as an instructor
and scholar of great ability. He profited by the lessons
he learned at his feet, and augmented the value of his
own labours by imitating him as far as practicable. He
was not long in convincing the board that, successful as
he was in teaching before entering Williams College,
his ability in that sphere was largely increased by his
collegiate course. At the end of the first year he was
placed at the head of the institution, with the title,
" Chairman of the Board of Instructors," and one year
later was made PRINCIPAL. In eleven years from the
time he left the tow-path of the canal he was installed
principal of the " Eclectic Institute of the Western Re-
serve," where three hundred young ladies and gentlemen
were pursuing a course of education.

One of his successful points, as instructor, was to dis-
cover young men of superior talents and persuade them
to acquire a liberal education. Sometimes their fathers
would put a veto upon such a project, when he was
forced to try his logic and persuasive powers upon them.
He called this "capturing boys," and he enjoyed it
hugely. There are many bright intellects now adorn-
ing the learned professions of the country that would
have been unknown to fame but for his persistent efforts
in "capturing" them. President Hinsdale, who now
presides over Hiram College, was one of them, — one of
the ablest and most remarkable scholars of the land.
Garfield tells the story of the capture of two boys as
follows :

" I have taken more solid comfort in the thing itself,
and received more moral recompense and stimulus in

286 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

after life, from capturing young men for an education
than from anything else in the world.

"As I look back over my life thus far, I think of
nothing that so fills me with pleasure as the planning
of these sieges, the revolving in my mind of plans for
scaling the walls of the fortress ; of gaining access to
the inner soul-life, and at last seeing the besieged party
won to a fuller appreciation of himself, to a higher con-
ception of life, and of the part he is to bear in it. The
principal guards which I have found it necessary to
overcome in gaining these victories are the parents or
guardians of the young men themselves. I particu-
larly remember two such instances of capturing young
men from their parents. Both of those boys are to-day
educators, of wide reputation, — one president of a college,
the other high in the ranks of graded-school managers.
Neither, in my opinion, would to-day have been above
the commonest walks of life unless I, or some one else,
had captured him. There is a period in every young
man's life when a very small thing will turn him one
way or the other. He is distrustful of himself, and un-
certain as to what he should do. His parents are poor,
perhaps, and argue that he has more education than
they ever obtained, and that it is enough. These parents
are sometimes a little too anxious in regard to what
their boys are going to do when they get through with
their college course. They talk to the young man too
much, and I have noticed that the boy who will make
the best man is sometimes most ready to doubt himself.
I always remember the turning period in my own life,
and pity a young man at this stage from the bottom of
my heart. One of the young men I refer to came to
me on the closing day of the spring term, and bade me
good-bye at my studv. I noticed that he awkwardly

RETURN TO HIRAM. 285

lingered after I expected him to go, and had turned to
my writing again. * I suppose you will be back again
in the fall, Henry ? ' I said, to fill in the vacuum. He
did not answer, and turning towards him, I noticed that
his eyes were filled with tears, and that his countenance
was undergoing contortions of pain.

" He at length managed to stammer out, ' No, I am
not coming back to Hiram any more. Father says I
have got education enough, and that he needs rne to
work on the farm ; that education don't help along a
farmer any.'

" * Is your father here ? ' I asked, almost as much
affected by the statement as the boy himself He was
a peculiarly bright boy, one of those strong, awkward,
bashful, blonde, large-headed fellows, such as make
men. He was not a prodigy by any means ; but he
knew what work meant, and when he had won a thing
by the true endeavour, he knew its value.

" ' Yes, father is here, and is taking my things home
for good,' said the boy, more affected than ever.

" * Well, don't feel badly,' I said. ' Please tell him
Mr. Garfield would like to see him at his study before
he leaves the village. Don't tell him that it is about
you, but simply that I want to see him.' In the course
of half an hour the old gentleman, a robust specimen
of a Western Reserve Yankee, came into the room, and
awkv/ardly sat down. I knew something of the man
before,' and I thought I knew how to begin. I shot right
at the bull's-eye immediately.

" ' So you have come up to take Henry home with
you, have you .? ' The old gentleman answered, * Yes.'
* I sent for you because I wanted to have a little talk
with you about Henry's future. He is coming back again
in the fall, I hope ? *

288 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

" ' Wal, I think not. I don't reckon I can afford to
sind him any more. He's got eddication enough for a
farmer already, and I notice that when they git too
much they sorter git lazy. Yer eddicated farmers' are
humbugs. Henry's got so far 'long now that he'd rother
hev his head in a book than be workin'. He don't take
no interest in the stock nor in the farm improvements.
Everybody else is dependent in this world on the farmer,
and I think that we've got too many eddicated fellows
setting around now for the farmer to support.'

" * I am sorry to hear you talk so,' I said ; * for really
I consider Henry one of the brightest and most faithful
students I have ever had. I have taken a very deep in-
terest in him. What I wanted to say to you was, that
the matter of educating him has largely been a constant
outgo thus far, but if he is permitted to come next fall
term, he will be far enough advanced so that he can
teach school in the winter, and begin to help himself and
you along. He can earn very little on the farm in the
winter, and he can get very good wages teaching. How
does that strike you ? '

"The idea was a new and good one to him. He
simply remarked, *Do you really think he can teach
next winter ? '

" * I should think so, certainly,* I replied. * But if he
cannot do so then, he can in a short time, anyhow.'

*'*Wal, I will think on it. He wants to come back
bad enough, and I guess I'll have to let him. I never
thought of it that way afore.*

" I knew I was safe. It was the financial question
that troubled the old gentleman, and I knew that would
be overcome when Henry got to teaching, and could
earn his money himself. He would then be so far along,
too, that he could fight his own battles. He came all

RETURN TO HIRAM. 289

right the next fall, and, after finishing at Hiram, gradu-
ated at an Eastern college."

" * Well, how did you manage the campaign for
capturing the other young man ? ' Garfield was asked.

" Well, that was a different case. I knew that this
youth was going to leave mainly for financial reasons
also, but I understood his father well enough to know
that the matter must be managed with exceeding deli-
cacy. He was a man of very strong religious convic-
tions, and I thought he might be approached from that
side of his character ; so when I got the letter of the
son, telling me, in the saddest language that he could
master, that he could not come back to school any more,
but must be content to be simply a farmer, much as it was
against his inclination, I revolved the matter in my mind,
and decided to send an appointment to preach in the
little country church where the old gentleman attended.
I took for a subject the parable of the talents, and in
the course of my discourse dwelt specially upon the fact
that children were the talents which had been entrusted
to parents, and if these talents were not increased and
developed there was a fearful trust neglected. After
church I called upon the parents of the boy I was be-
sieging, and I saw that something was weighing upon
their minds. At length the subject of the discourse
was taken up and gone over again, and in due course
the young man himself was discussed, and I gave my
opinion that he should by all means be encouraged and
assisted in taking a thorough course of study. I gave
my opinion that there was nothing more important to
the parent than to do all in his power for the child.
The next term the young man again appeared upon
Hiram Hill, and remained pretty continuously till
graduation."

U

290 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

He was wonderfully magnetic. He never failed to win
students to himself. President Hinsdale says of him :

" Naturally, Garfield, the teacher, drew his pupils to
himself with extraordinary power. Never have I seen
such devotion to another teacher. An old Hiram
student, now holding a responsible office in the public
schools of Cleveland, speaking of the old times before
Garfield went to college, says in a private letter : * Then
began to grow up in me an admiration and love for
Garfield that has never abated, and the like of which
I have never known. A bow of recognition or a single
word from him was to me an inspiration.' And such
would be the general testimony. In all this there was
method ; not the method of crafty art, as the cynical
might say, but the method of nature, the method of a great
mind and noble heart. I take my leave of this Hiram
teacher with affirming my conviction that, other things
being equal, Garfield has never been greater than he was
in Hiram from 1857 to 1 861. He left the quiet of the
academy for the roar of the field and the forum at the
age of thirty, but not until he had demonstrated his
fitness for the highest educational work and honours."

The following facts and incidents will illustrate some
of his methods and qualities as a teacher.

One day a pupil made a sad failure in the class, at
least on a portion of the lesson, when Garfield roguishly
pointed to a soiled place in one corner of the recitation
room, where the water had trickled through the plaster-
ing, and run down upon the wall.

" Look there," he said, laughing at the same time, and
eliciting a smile from each member of the class. That
was all he said ; but the rebuke was keen and sharp,
coming in that way from him. Such was his usual
method. Occasionally, however, when he perceived a

I

RETURN TO HIRAM. 291

really rebellious spirit that meant mischief, he was severe
and withering in his method of treatment.

He assigned a certain task to a student at one time,
when the latter said :

** I doubt whether I can do it. I do not think I am
equal to it."

"Not equal to it?"

" No, sir."

"Darsie!" answered Garfield; "when I get into a
place that I can easily fill, I always feel like shoving out
of it into one that requires of me more exertion."

In this single sentence was one of the secrets of his
success ; and Darsie saw it at once. Garfield had risen
rapidly by setting his standard high, and bringing
himself up to it.

Akin to this, he said to the students on one occasion :

"I shall give you a series of lectures upon history,
beginning next week. I do this not alone to assist you ;
the preparation for the lectures will compel me to study
history."

It was not the mere announcement that was inter-
esting ; it was a method of his to show his pupils the
best plan of study. He could do more and better work
under a necessity than otherwise ; and so can every
one. It was his custom to lecture on the topics he
desired to study particularly, that he might derive the
benefit of a twofold object. He wanted his pupils to
appreciate the advantage of it.

" How in the world can he time his steps so as to take
the last one just as the bell stops } " remarked a student/
referring to his coming into the chapel exercises and
taking his seat precisely as the bell ceased.

" Hard telling," replied Darsie ; " but he is always on
the stairs in the last half of the last minute, and glides

292 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

into his seat just as the last tap of the bell is struck"
The last stroke of the bell was indicated by a little more
vigorous pull of the rope.

" And what seems marvellous to me is, that he never
fails. I couldn't time my steps like that," added the
student.

Garfield insisted upon punctuality everywhere, — at
prayers, recitation, lectures, all engagements. He de-
manded promptness as an essential duty. He made his
pupils feel the importance of these qualities. But he
would not require of them v.hat he did not practise
himself. He was the last man to preach what he did
not practise. So he illustrated, every day, by personal
example, the lessons which he taught respecting these
virtues.

Returning from a neighbouring town one morning,
where he lectured on the previous evening, he entered
his recitation room late. Another teacher, supposing he
would not return in season to hear the recitation, had
taken his class. As he entered, a pupil was answering
a question. While in the act of removing his overcoat,
and precisely as the pupil's answer ceased, Garfield put
another question in the same line, as if the previous
question were put by himself. He smiled, the teacher
laughed and bowed himself out of the room, and the
class roared. It was a happy termination of a single act
of tardiness.

He was accustomed to lecture to his pupils upon
"manners," ** elements of success," and kindred topics.
One day his topic was the " Turning-Point of Life," in
which he said :

" The comb of the roof at the court house at Ravenna
(capital of Portage County, of which Hiram was a town)
divides the drops of rain, sending those that fall on the

RETURN TO HIRAM. 293

south side to the Gulf of Mexico, and those on the oppo-
site side into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, so that a mere
breath of air, or the flutter of a bird's wing, may determine
their destiny. It is so with your lives, my young friends.
A passing event, perhaps of trifling importance in your
view, the choice of a book or companion, a stirring
thought, a right resolve, the associations of an hour, may
prove the turning-point of your lives."

During his connection with the school as principal, his
lectures were numerous. He lectured upon the natural
sciences, reading, books, government, and occasional
"topics of the times." He delivered many lectures in
Portage County, and in neighbouring counties, before
literary societies ; lectures upon geology, illustrated by
charts of his own making, " Character and Writings of
Sir Walter Scott," " Character of the German People,"
and *' Carlyle's Frederic the Great." He was the most
popular lecturer in Ohio. Crossing swords with William
Denton, the sceptic, brought him into great notoriety.
" He held a debate with Denton on the question of
Whether all life upon the earth was developed by
processes of law, or had been introduced by successive
creative acts. Denton held the development theory ;
Garfield that of intelligent, providential action. The
discussion lasted five days and evenings, embraced
twenty speeches on the part of each of the disputants,
and was remarkable as a sustained and severe intellectual
effort." It won laurels for Garfield as a debater and man
of giant intellect.

Says Rev. J. L. Darsie, who was one of his pupils :
"His lectures to the school were upon all sorts of
subjects, and were generally the result of his readings
and observation. One season he took a trip, and, on his
return, gave a very interesting series on " The Chain of

294

FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

Lakes," including Niagara, Thousand Islands, and sub-
historic points. One lecture on aerolites I shall never
forget. He gave several upon Ordnance, about the time
of the attack upon Fort Sumter. Esthetics came in
for a share of treatment, with others on the personal
habits of the students; and they were very effective.
He lectured upon any and every scientific subject."

A large number of students were always in attendance,
who paid their way along by teaching school in the
winter. To these he gave lectures on the art of teaching.
Mr. Darsie says : "At each lecture he appointed one or
two pupils to bring in a review of the lecture in writing,
on a succeeding morning, and these reviews were read
to the school. I now recall one of the most successful
journalists of our land, who began his training here. In
all he said or did, Garfield had the remarkable power of
impressing himself and his thoughts upon his hearers, by
his manners, gestures, tone of voice, and the freshness of
his style. It was customary to act plays on Commence-
ment occasions, and the drama, in its more moral and
high-toned phases, was encouraged. Often the play
was original, and always subject to the strictures of the
faculty, as were all the public performances. Garfield,
when a student, was one of the most successful in
delineating character. He could impersonate almost
any character, and was amazingly successful in this
role."

He delivered also many extemporaneous speeches
on social and literary occasions, and even in political
campaigns. He studied law, also, while he was teacher
at Hiram, doing it by the improvement of odd moments,
and by burning midnight-oil. He was admitted to the
bar before he exchanged the quiet of teaching for the
roar of battle. He studied law, " not so much with the

RETURN TO HIRAM, 295

intention of becoming a lawyer as to acquaint him-
self with the principles of law. He had no idea of aban-
doning his chosen profession to spend his energies in
law-practice, but the principles of law were needed to
round his knowledge, and increase his power."

As a Christian man, his influence was grand and en-
nobling, and his labours as a preacher are to be added
to the mass of his other labours. He often preached
in the Disciples' Church at Hiram, and at one time he
preached regularly at Solon and Newburg, whither he
went on Saturday night, returning on Monday morning.
He preached more or less throughout the county.
Preaching and lecturing in other towns, near and remote,
spread a knowledge of the school, and made it popular,
He required his pupils to observe the highest standard
of moral conduct, and his counsel here was frequent
and direct. His favourite hymn at chapel-service was,
" Ho ! reapers of Life's Harvest," etc., and he joined in
the singing with a will. He often requested the students
to sing this hymn at morning devotions, allowing them
to sit until they came to the last verse, when he would
rap upon the desk with his knuckles, and the school
would rise and sing the last verse standing.

He married Miss Rudolph, the lady to whom he was
engaged before entering college, on November 11, 1858.
Her efficient co-operation enabled him to accomplish so
large an amount of labour. Often, in the preparation
of a lecture or speech, his wife and Miss Booth would
explore the library for him, or examine certain books
which he designated. The number of books that he
perused in a year was almost incredible. Going from
the library with his arms full of volumes was a common
spectacle. Mr. Darsie has seen him on his way to the
libraiy, in the rain, returning ten or twelve volumes,

296 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

a student walking by his side, holding an umbrella over
his head. Some books awakened his enthusiasm ; he
read them more than once. Such books as " Tom
Brown's School Days," won his admiration. He told
his pupils that every one of them ought to read the
work carefully. Macaulay's works, and Mill's, and works
of kindred ability and value, he particularly enjoyed and
recommended.

In those days Commencement exercises brought to-
gether from five to ten thousand people. They came
from fifty miles around. A large tent was pitched over
a stage, on which the literary exercises were performed.
Booths for refreshments were erected here and there,
and often showmen would appear upon the ground
Roughs and intoxicated persons sometimes appeared in
large numbers, causing disturbance, and sadly marring
the harmony of the occasion. But after Garfield became
principal these scenes stopped. The pointing of his
finger, or the waving of his hand, when disturbance
broke out in any quarter, quelled it at once. Roughs
appeared to understand that his authority could not be
trifled with on such occasions.

We shall close this chapter by another quotation from
Rev. Mr. Darsie :

" No matter how old the pupils were, Garfield always
called us by our first names, and kept himself on the
most familiar terms with all. He played with us freely,
scuffled with us sometimes, walked with us in walking to
and fro, and we treated him out of the class just about
as we did one another. Yet he was a most strict disci-
plinarian, and enforced the rules like a martinet. He
combined an affectionate and confiding manner with
respect for order, in a most successful way. If he
wanted to speak to a pupil, either for reproof or appro-

1

i

RETURN TO HIRAM. 297

batlon, he would generally manage to get one arm
around him, and draw him close up to him. He had
a peculiar way of shaking hands, too, giving a twist to
your arm, and drawing you right up to him. This sym-
pathetic manner has helped him to advancement. When
I was janitor, he used sometimes to stop me and ask my
opinion about this and that, as if seriously advising with
me. I can see now that my opinion could not have been
of any value, and that he probably asked me, partly to
increase my self-respect and partly to show me that he
felt an interest in me. I certainly was his friend all the
firmer for it.

" I remember once asking him what was the best way
to pursue a certain study, and he said: 'Use several
text-books ; get the views of different authors as you
advance ; in that way you can plough a broader furrow.
I always study in that way.' He tried hard to have us
observe carefully and accurately. He broke out one
day in the midst of a lesson with, * Henry, how many
posts are there under the building downstairs } ' Henry
expressed his opinion, and the question went round the
class, hardly one getting it right. Then it was, * How
many boot-scrapers are there at the door } ' * How many
windows in the building } ' * How many trees in the
field } ' * What were the colours of particular rooms,
and the peculiarities of any familiar objects .'' ' He was
the keenest observer I ever saw. I think he observed,
and numbered, every button on our coats. A friend of
mine was walking with him through Cleveland, one day,
when Garfield stopped and darted down a cellar- way,
asking his companion to follow, and briefly stopping to
explain himself. The sign, * Saws and Files,' was over
the door, and in the depths was heard a regular clicking
sound. * I think this fellow is cutting files,' said he.

FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

'and I have never seen a file cut.* Down they went,
and, sure enough, there was a man re-cutting an old file,
and they stayed there ten minutes, and found out all
about the process. Garfield would never go by anything
without understanding it."

xxiir.

TOP OF THE LADDER.

It was impossible for a public speaker of Garfield's
power to keep out of politics. In political campaigns
the public demand his efforts ; men will not take no for
an answer. It was so with Garfield. He was impressed
into the service by leading citizens of his county. In
the autumn after his return to Hiram, before he hardly
had time to become settled in his great work, his efforts
on the platform were sought ; and the new Republican
party, on the anti-slavery basis, with its first candidate,
John C. Fremont, a man of Garfield's stamp in vigour,
courage, and force of character, was exceedingly taking
to him. Nobody had to tease him long for a speech.
Often he went in the evening to make a speech, five, six,
ten miles distant, returning after the address. Usually
he took a student with him for company and improve-
ment. As soon as they started, he would open conver-
sation, seldom upon the subject of his discourse, but
upon some topic of real value to the student. Going
and returning, his conversation was continued without
the least abatement.

Alphonso Hart, a stalwart Democrat of Ravenna,
delivered a speech in Hiram, full of slavery and Demo-
cratic sophistries and errors. Garfield heard it, with
many Republican citizens.

agg

300 FROM LOG' CAB IN TO WHITE HOUSE.

"Repl)^ to it, Mr. Garfield," appealed an influential
citizen to him. " Floor him."

" That can easily be done," Garfield answered ; " but
is it wise ? "

"It is always wise to refute error and wrong any-
where."

" I confess that I should enjoy handling him without
gloves for an hour."

" Handle him, then," urged the citizen. " It will do
the Republican party a world of good."

Other citizens put in their pleas for him to answer
Hart.

'" You are just the one to do it."

" Everybody wants you should answer him."

" It will make votes for Fremont."

" Come now, do gratify the public desire."

In this way Garfield was beset with pleas to answer
the Democratic orator ; and he consented. The meet-
ing was in the Disciples' Church, and it was packed to
its utmost capacity. Garfield's reply was devoid of all
bitterness, but was powerful with logic and facts. He,
hauled over the record of the Democratic party, with its
indorsement of slavery with all its horrors, and he made
that record appear black enough. The effort was both
able and triumphant, and the fame of it rapidly spread
throughout ^the county. Appeals for more speeches
came in from all the region about, and finally a discus-,
sion was arranged between Garfield and Hart, to take
place at Garrettsville on a given day. Crowds flocked
to hear the debate, (jarfield was in his element on that
day, for he had posted himself thoroughly upon the
history of the Democratic party, and the aims of its
Southern leaders to make slavery national. His antago-
nist was completely discomfited in the discussion. He

TOP OF THE LADDER. 301

had counted without his host. He was floored. Gar-
field's success lifted him at once into enviable notoriety
as a political debater and orator, and, from that time,
remarks like the following were common :

" He must go to the legislature."

" We must send him to Congress."

"Just the man to follow that old anti-slavery war-
horse, Giddings."

" You'll see him President yet."

And so the enthusiastic awakening expended itself, in
a measure, upon Garfield's supposed future career. One
year later the position of representative to the State
legislature was tendered him.

** No ; my work is here in the Institute. I have no
ambition to enter political life. I must decline the pro-
position." Garfield thus replied out of an honest heart.

Again and again he was urged to accept the position,
but to every one his answer was the same.

" My work is here, and my heart is here, and my DUTY
fS here." No appeals could move him.

In 1859 the faculty of Williams College invited him
iO deliver the master's oration on Commencement day.
It was a rare compliment the faculty paid to him by this
invitation, for it was but three years after he was gradu-
ated. Accepting the invitation, and preparing himself
carefully for the occasion, he left Hiram for Williams-
town, Massachusetts, accompanied by his wife, taking
the first pleasure-trip of his life. He descended the St.
Lawrence River to Quebec, and then crossed the New
England States to his destinaticgi. A warm welcome
awaited him there. Nor were the numerous friends who
gathered disappointed in the orator of the day. His
praises were on every lip.

On his return, when he had reached Mentor, in his

302 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

own State, a delegation of citizens met him with an im-
expected proposition.

"We want you to become a candidate for State
senator."

" Indeed ! " exclaimed Garfield, very much surprised
by the proposition. ** I thought Mr. Prentiss was the
man."

" Mr. Prentiss has just died, very suddenly."^

Mr. Prentiss was a man well advanced in life, a very
popular citizen of Ravenna, whose re-election had been
determined upon. But his sudden death frustrated their
plans ; and now all hearts turned to the young principal
of Hiram Institute.

" You are the first choice of the leading Republicans
of the district."

" I thank you sincerely for thinking of me, and, really,
it is a temptation to receive this offer ; but I do not see
how I can consistently consent."

"Your name will enable us to carry the district for
the Republicans easily," urged another one of the
delegation. " I hope you will not decline without giving
the subject some thought."

" Yes ; but my thought is of the institute. How can
I accept your proposition and discharge my duties to
the school ? "

" Your duties in the senate will keep you away but
a few weeks. Suppose you take the subject into con-
sideration, confer with the faculty, and let us have your
decision a week hence."

The last speaker knew that some members of the
faculty and board of trustees were anxious that he
should accept the nomination.

To this last suggestion Garfield yielded, and the
matter was laid before the faculty and trustees. To his

TOP OF THE LADDER. 303

surprise, all of them urged him to consent to the use of
his name. Teachers volunteered to do extra work in
his absence, and all were willing to contribute service,
so as to make it possible for him to go.

Garfield was pressed into this political service, and
received the nomination. He was present, by request,
at the nominating convention ; and while the business
was in progress, a delegate, who saw the youthful candi-
date on that day for the first time, remarked to a leading
Republican :

"Don't you make a mistake in putting forward so
young a man for senator } "

" Only young in years ; he is not young in ability,"
was the prompt reply.

" I don't know about that ; unless his looks belie him,
his experience in public life must be rather limited."

" You wait and see. We shall hear from him when
this business is through, and you will be satisfied that
his head is old, though his body is young."

After the nomination, according to the custom that
prevailed, Garfield accepted it in a characteristic speech.
The delegate who doubted the wisdom of the nomination
immediately said to the Republican to whom his doubts
were expressed :

" I am perfectly satisfied ; he is a power."

Garfield was elected by a very large majority, and
took his seat in the State senate, January, i860. It was
a time of great excitement. The South was threatening
secession and civil war, if a Republican should be elected
President in the approaching campaign. The North was
fully aroused to check the incursions of slavery, by a
bold and victorious advance. Garfield was just the man
to occupy a seat in the State senate at such a time,
though he was the youngest member of the body.

304 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

There was another able young man in the senate with
him, as radical as himself, Jacob D. Cox, afterwards
major-general, governor of Ohio, and Secretary of the
Interior. The two roomed together, and were as
intimate as brothers. Some of the members called
them "Damon and Pythias." There was still another
young man. Professor Munroe of Oberlin College, an
institution that was founded on anti-slavery principles,
and whose teachers were as one with Garfield on the
great national question that overtopped all others —
liberty. Cox himself was the son-in-law of an Oberlin
professor. These three senators stood shoulder to
shoulder against slavery, and were called the "radical
triumvirate."

Garfield took rank at once with the ablest speakers
in that body. President Hinsdale says : " He was a
valuable man on committees and in party counsels. No
senator was more frequently called to his counsels by
the president of the senate when knotty points of order
were to be untied or cut."

In a previous chapter we learned that Garfield visited
Columbus with his mother, and saw the legislature in
session. Little did he dream, or his mother, that in less
than ten years he would be a leading member of that
senate, his eloquence ringing through those halls, and
his wise counsels and patriotic efforts preparing the
State to oppose rebellion with great power ; yet so it
was. One of the most marvellous examples of success
on record !

During his second term in the senate, 1861, he was
confronted by the gravest questions that State or nation
ever have to deal with. Lincoln had been elected Presi-
dent, the Southern States were preparing to secede, and
civil war was imminent. " Shall Ohio prepare for war.? "

TOP OF THE LADDER. 305

** Has a State the right to secede ? " '* Can a State be
coerced ? " " Shall we punish treason ? " These were
among the questions the young senator was compelled
to discuss. Almost night and day he laboured to qualify
himself to discuss them intelligently and ably. Night
after night, until eleven, twelve, and even one o'clock,
he spent in the State library, studying these and kindred
questions. Whenever he spoke upon them, he spoke
pointedly, and with great power. He led the senate in
its patriotic stand against secession and compromise
with slavery. He denounced Buchanan, the Democratic
president, who was favouring the secessionists, and
characterized Cobb, who robbed the national treasury,
and Floyd, who stole the arms from every Northern
arsenal, and Toucy, who sent the ships of the navy as
far away as possible — all members of the Democratic
cabinet — he characterized them as traitors to their
country. In a speech that blazed with fervid eloquence,
he told a Democratic senator. Judge Key, of Cincinnatti,
"To remember whose cabinet it was that had embraced
traitors among its most distinguished members, and sent
them forth from its most secret sessions to betray their
knowledge to their country's ruin ! "

When Congress very unwisely proposed a "Con-
stitutional Amendment," prohibiting further legislation
upon slavery in the States, — a measure designed to
placate the secessionists, — Garfield denounced it in the
Ohio senate as a compromise with traitors, an un-
patriotic and base surrender to the slave oligarchy. He
declared that his arm should wither in its socket before
it should be lifted in favour of a measure that virtually
abandoned liberty, and left slavery master of the situa-
tion. " The events now transpiring make it clear that
this is no time for any such amendment," he exclaimed,

X

3o6 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

"Would you give up the forts and other Government
property, or would you fight to maintain your right to
them ? "

When the vote was taken, Garfield, with six others,
recorded their names against the " base surrender." He
opposed the meeting of the famous Washington Peace
Commissioners until after the inauguration of Mr.
Lincoln ; he protested against all such " peace measures "
as cowardly and futile, preferring himself to stand by
the old flag, 2Si6. fight for human rights.

Before this he was satisfied that war could not be
averted. Late one night he said to his room-mate :

" Cox, war is inevitable."

" That is sure as you live," answered Cox.

" You and I must fight."

" Or prove ourselves cowards."

" Here, then, we pledge our lives to our country in
this hour of peril." And they clasped hands silently,
such emotions stirring their breasts as patriots only feel
in the solemn hour of danger.

News of the firing upon Fort Sumter was followed
immediately by a call from President Lincoln for
seventy-five thousand men. The call was read in the
Ohio senate, crowded with patriotic spectators, whose
tumultuous applause seconded the president's demand.
As soon as the deafening cheers had subsided, Garfield
sprang to his feet, and in a short speech, of almost
surpassing eloquence and power, moved, —

"That Ohio contribute twenty thousand men, and
^hree million dollars, as the quota of the State."

The motion was carried amid the wildest demon-
strations of devotion to the country.

Governor Dennison, of Ohio, sent Garfield to Missouri
to obtain five thousand stand of arms, a portion of those

I

TOP OF THE LADDER. 307

which General Lyon removed from the arsenal at St.
Louis. He was successful in his mission, shipped the
guns, and saw them safely delivered at Columbus.

After the fall of Sumter, Governor Dennison sent
him to Cleveland, to organize the seventh and eighth
regiments of Ohio infantry. Having organized them,
the governor offered him the colonelcy of one of them ;
but he declined the offer because he lacked " military
experience." He promised to take a subordinate
position, however, provided a West Point graduate was
placed in command. The result was, that the governor
appointed him lieutenant-colonel, and sent him to the
Western Reserve to recruit a regiment, promising him
a West Pointer to command it if one could be found.
Garfield suggested his old friend and schoolmate,
Captain Hazen, then in the regular army ; but when the
governor sent to the war department for his transfer,
General Scott refused to release him. So the forty-
second Ohio regiment, recruited by Garfield, and
embracing a large number of Hiram students, went into
camp at Columbus without a colonel. It was in these
circumstances, and after repeated requests from officers
and members of the regiment, that Garfield consented
to take the command.

We have not space for details. Garfield proved him-
self as victorious in war as he had been successful in
peace. In less than one month after he went into action
with his regiment, under the orders of General Buell, he
fought the battle of Middle Creek, January 10, 1862,
driving the rebel general Marshall, whose forces largely
outnumbered his, out of his intrenchments, compelling
him to retreat into Virginia. Other victories followed,
in what was called the "Sandy Valley campaign,"
eliciting from the commanding general a congratulatory

3o8 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

order, in which he spoke of the expedition as " calling
into action the highest qualities of a soldier — fortitude,
perseverance, courage." For his bravery and military
skill in this campaign the authorities at Washington
made Garfield a brigadier-general, dating his commissioi;
back to January lo, 1862, the day of the battle of Middle
Creek. As Garfield was the youngest member of the
Ohio senate, so now he became the youngest brigadier-
general in the army.

Subsequently he was made major-general "for gallant
and meritorious services at the battle of Chickamauga."
The antecedents of that famous battle, under General
Rosecrans, show that the victory was due more to the
sagacity, plans, and courage of General Garfield than
to any other officer. Within about one year and a
half, he rose froii a lieutenant-colonelcy to a major-
general.

In the summer of 1862 leading Republicans of the
nineteenth Ohio congressional district nominated Garfield
to represent them in Congress. They regarded him as
the man above all others in the district qualified to
succeed Joshua R. Giddings, of whom they were justly
proud. Giddings was superseded four years before by
John Hutchins, with whom the Republicans were not
satisfied. The movement for Garfield was undertaken
without his knowledge. He was at the head of his
command in Kentucky. The knowledge of his great
abilities, and his military fame, led to his nomination.
At first he thought he must decline the honour, and fight
out the battles of his country. He was very popular j'n
the army, both with officers and soldiers, — his pay, too,
was double that of a Congressman, and he was poor and
needed the greater salary, — and there was no doubt
that the highest honours awaited him should he continue

TOP OF THE LADDER. 309

on the field until the end of the war. The reader can
readily see that to accept the nomination in these
circumstances, was an act of great self-denial. But
President Lincoln signified his desire for Garfield to
enter Congress, as a member of military experience and
skill was much needed there. The wishes of Lincoln
settled the doubts of Garfield, and he accepted the
nomination, was triumphantly elected, and took his seat
in the national house of representatives in December,
1863, after two years and three months of service in the
army.

During this time the trustees of Hiram Institute had
not abandoned the idea of his return to the institution.
While a member of the Ohio senate he continued his
connection with the school, when the senate was not
in session. One interesting item of his thoroughness
in teaching belongs to this part of his career. He was
teaching a class how to write letters, and having taught
them how to address different classes of friends and
relatives, how to superscribe letters, etc., illustrating the
same on the blackboard, he requested each one to write
a letter to him at Columbus. In due time the letters
were written, and forwarded. Subsequently they were
returned to the authors, corrected.

During his first two years in Congress his name ap-
peared on the catalogue of Hiram Institute as "Advisory
Principal and Lecturer." He has been a member of the
board of trustees ever since. For seventeen years he
served his district as national representative. We have
not space for any of the brilliant record of those seven-
teen years. We can only say, that he became the
acknowledged leader of the national house of represen-
tatives ; the pride of his native State, Ohio, and an
honour to the Republic.

3ro FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

His great popularity and usefulness as representative
very naturally suggested his name to. the Republicans
of Ohio, when a United States senator was to be elected
by the legislature in January, 1880, to succeed Mr.
Thurman. When the subject was opened to Garfield,
he remarked, —

" Just as you please ; if my friends think it best, I
shall make no objection."

"We want you should go to Columbus when the
election is pending."

** I cannot consent to any such plan. I shall not lift
my finger for the office. I never sought an office yet,
except that of janitor at Hiram Institute. If the people
want me, they will elect me."

" Very true," urged his friends ; " it is no engineer-
ing or finesse that we desire you to do at Columbus.
We only want you to be where your friends can see you
and confer with you."

" And that will be construed into work for the office,
the very appearance of which is distasteful to me. I
decline peremptorily to go to Columbus." This was
Garfield's characteristic decision and reply.

When the legislature assembled, the feeling was so
strong for Garfield that all other candidates withdrew,
and he was nominated by acclamation at the party
caucus, and unanimously elected.

After the election was over he visited Columbus, and
addressed both branches of the legislature in joint con-
vention. The closing paragraph of his remarkable speech
illustrates the courage and independence of the man ;
qualities that have recommended him to the confidence
and support of the people. He said, —

" During the twenty years that I have been in public
life, almost eighteen of it in the Congress of the United

TOP OF THE LADDER, 311

States, I have tried to do one thing. Whether I was
mistaken or otherwise, it has been the plan of my life
to follow my conviction, at whatever personal cost to
myself I have represented for many years a district
in Congress whose approbation I greatly desired ; but
though it may seem, perhaps, a little egotistical to say
it, I yet desired still more the approbation of one
person, and his name was Garfield. He is the only
man that I am compelled to sleep with, and eat with,
and live with, and die with ; and if I could not have
his approbation, I should have bad companionship."
In view of this last triumph President Hinsdale said, —
"He has commanded success. His ability, know-
ledge, mastery of questions, generosity of nature, devo-
tion to the public good, and honesty of purpose, have
done the work. He has never had a political * machine.'
He has never forgotten the day of small things. It is
difficult to see how a political triumph could be more
complete or more gratifying than his election to the
senate. No bargains, no * slate,' no * grocery,' at Colum-
bus. He did not even go to the capital city. Such
things are inspiring to those who think politics in a bad
way. He is a man of positive convictions, freely uttered.
Politically, he may be called a * man of war ; ' and yet
few men, or none, begrudge him his triumph. Democrats
vied with Republicans the other day, in Washington,
in their congratulations ; some of them were as anxious
for his election as any Republican could be. It is said
that he will go to the senate without an enemy on either
side of the chamber. These things are honourable to
all parties. They show that manhood is more than
party."

And so James, the hero of our tale, stands upon the
highest round of the ladder of fame, save one I

312 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE, -

The final step to the top of the ladder followed
quickly ; so quickly, that he had not time to take his
seat in the United States senate. He had but just
planted his feet upon the highest round of the ladder,
save one, when the call to come up higher — to the top-
was heard from Maine to the Golden Gate.

The National Republican Convention, five months
later, assembled to nominate a candidate for the presi-
dency of the United States. James A. Garfield was
a member of that convention, and his magnetic presence
was the occasion of much enthusiasm and applause.
Although he was not a candidate for the position, when-
ever he arose to speak, or moved about in the vast
audience, he was greeted with hearty cheers. He was
evidently en rapport with the crowded assembly. After
thirty-four ineffectual ballots for a candidate, about fifty
members of the convention cast their votes for James
A. Garfield in the thirty-fifth ballot. The announce-
ment created a furor of excitement, as it indicated a
breaking up of the factions, and a probable union of all
upon the most popular Republican in the convention.
Instantly the delegates of one State seized their banner
with a shout (the delegates of each State sat together,
their banner bearing the name of their State), bore it
proudly 'forward, and placed it over the head of the
aforesaid patriot and statesman, followed by other
delegations, and still others, until seven hundred dele-
gates upon the floor, and fifteen thousand spectators
in the galleries, joined in the remarkable demonstration,
and cheer upon cheer rent the air, as the banners, one
after another, were placed in triumph over the head
of their hero, declaring to the world, without the use
of language, that James A. Garfield was the choice of
the convention for President of the United States ; the

TOP OF THE LADDER,

313

magnificent ovation terminating by the several bands
striking up " Rally Round the Flag," fifteen thousand
voices joining in the chorus, and a section of artillery
outside contributing its thundering bass to the outburst
of joy. It was a wild, tumultuous scene of excitement,
the spontaneous outburst of patriotic devotion to the
country, such as never transpired in any political assem-
bly before, and, probably, never will again. It was
something more, and different from the usual excitement
and passion of political assemblies ; it was an inspiration
of the hour, begotten and moved by more than mortal
impulse — the interposition of Him who has guided and
saved our country from its birth !

That spontaneous burst of enthusiasm really nomi-
nated General Garfield for President. The thirty-sixth
ballot, that followed immediately, was only a method of
registering the decision of that supreme moment.

The news of General Garfield's nomination flew with
the speed of electricity over the land, creating unbounded
joy from Plymouth Rock to the Pacific Slope. The
disappointments and animosities of a heated campaign
vanished at once before the conceded worth and popu-
larity of the candidate. Partisans forgot the men of
their choice, in their gladness that union and harmony
signalised the close of the most remarkable political
convention on record.

He was elected President of the United
States on the second day of November, eigh-
teen HUNDRED AND EIGHTY.

He carried twenty of the thirty-eight States, securing
213 of the 369 electors. In his native town of Orange
every ballot was cast for him.

He occupied the White House on the fourth day of
March, eighteen hundred and eighty-one !

314 FROM LOG-CAhiN- TO WHITE HOUSE.

Reader ! Was there ever a more marvellous journey
of life than that which we have described in this book —
from the Log-Cabin to the White House ? *

* The President's house, called White House from the colour
of the freestone of which it is built.

XXIV.

INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD.

FITTING close of this volume is a collection of in-
:idents from Garfield's public life, illustrative of the
[ualities we have traced in his early struggles for a
livelihood and education. They will serve to establish,
lore fully if possible, the drift of our effort ; viz., " TllE

JOY IS FATHER OF THE MAN."

The thoughtful consideration that he devoted to issues
>f importance, and the deep reverence for the Scriptures
that was begotten in his soul by niaternal training and

le grace of God, appeared in the current of his thoughts

id acts after he had determined to enter the army.

'e went to his home at night thinking of his dear mother

md dearer wife and child, as well as the small property

xe should leave them if he laid down his life on the

^battle-field. Opening the Bible which his mother gave

him, to see what it would say to him upon the subject,

le read, and read, and every passage seemed like the

roice of God, saying to him, " Go! Go!" Far into the

light he thought and read, and read and thought, more

ind more satisfied that his decision was in the path of

luty ; arid, before the dawn of morning, he wrote to a

tear friend as follows :

** I have had a curious interest in watching the process,

In my own mind, by which the fabric of my life is being

315

Si6 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

demolished and reconstructed, to meet the new condition
of affairs. One by one my old plans and aims, modes
of thought and feeling, are found to be inconsistent with
present duty, and are set aside to give place to the new
structure of military life. It is not without a regret,
almost tearful at times, that I look upon the ruins.
But if, as the result of the broken plans and shattered
individual lives of thousands of American citizens, we
can see on the ruins of our own national errors a new
and enduring fabric arise, based on larger freedom and
higher justice, it will be a small sacrifice indeed. For
myself, I am contented with such a prospect, and,
regarding my life as given to the country, am only
anxious to make as much of it as possible before the
mortgage upon it is foreclosed."

When he went into camp, to drill his regiment before
joining the army, his thoroughness and systematic way
of doing things, as well as his tact and use of carpenters'
tools, came into immediate use. He was ignorant of
military tactics, and so he sat down first to the task of
instructing himself before he undertook the instruction
of his regiment. "Bringing his saw and jack-plane
again into play, he fashioned companies, officers, and
non-commissioned officers, out of maple blocks, and,
with these wooden-headed troops, thoroughly mastered
the infantry tactics in his quarters. Then he organ-
ized a school for the officers of his regiment, requiring
thorough recitation in the tactics, and illustrating the
manoeuvres by the blocks he had prepared for his own
instruction. This done, he instituted regimental, com-
pany, squad, skirmish, and bayonet drill, and kept his
men at these exercises from six to eight hours a day,
until it was universally admitted that no better drilled
or disciplined regiment could be found in Ohio."

d

#'

INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 317

decision and force of character, so noticeable in
iiis early life, were illustrated by the promptness and
energy with which he met a singular disappointment
on the day his regiment left Columbus for the seat of
war. By some mistake or misunderstanding, he had not
eached the depot when the train started. Coming up
ithin five minutes, he remarked to the superintendent
of the road, " I was never behind time before in my life,
and I will not be now ; " and he chartered an engine,
as off in a few minutes, and overtook his regiment in
ss than one hour.

Colonel Garfield's orders were, to open communication

ith Colonel Cranor, and form a junction with his forces,

Ithough his command did not number half that of the

enemy. The first indispensable thing to be done was

find a trusty messenger, to bear despatches to Colonel

ranor. He must be a man who would die rather than

betray his trust; for Colonel Cranor was a hundred

miles away, and the messenger must go through a region

inhabited by disloyal people, and infested by guerillas.

He applied to Colonel Moore, of the Fourteenth Ken-

ucky.

" Have you a man who will die rather than fail or

tray us?"

" I think I have," the colonel replied, after a little
eflection, " John Jordan."

The man was called, a strong-looking fellow, tall and
lean, with a squeaking voice, his speech the uncouth
dialect of the mountains, where he was born and reared,
subject to the hardest toil and privation. He knew
much of nature, in whose lap he was dandled, but very
little of books, except the " Course of Time," and the
Bible. Some officers would have thought him too simple
for a spy, or expert messenger ; but Garfield read him

3i8 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

ill a minute, — a rude, unlettered, trusty, Christian
man.

''Why did you come into the war ?" at last asked thCj
colonel.

"To do my sheer fur the kentry, gin'ral," answered
the man. " And I didn't druv no barg'in wi' th' Lord.
I guv Him my life squar' out ; and ef He's a mind ter^
tuck it on this tramp, why it's a' His'n ; • I've nothin' ter
say ag'in it."

" You mean that you've come into the war not ex-
pecting to get out of it ? "

" That's so, gin'ral.'*

*'Will you die rather than let the despatch be^
taken .? "

"I wull."

** Very well ; I will trust you."

Colonel Garfield wrote his despatch on tissue-paper,
rolled it into the form of a bullet, coated it with warm
lead, and delivered it to Jordan. At the same time he
provided him with a carbine, a brace of revolvers, and
the fleetest horse in the regiment. Jordan started upon
his perilous journey at night, after the moon was down.
He was to ride by night, and hide in the woods,
or rest in loyal families, if they could be found, by
day.

Before Jordan returned, another incident transpired,
showing how great service Garfield's life on the canal
was to him, in another direction. One day a loyal scout
presented himself at his head-quarters, and grasping
Colonel Garfield's hand, exclaimed, in a jolly way,— «

"Jim!"

Garfield looked at him with surprise for a moment,
but did not recognise him.

" Who are you t " he inquired.

INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 319

"Yer old companion, Jim," answered the scout.

" My old companion ! " ejaculated Garfield.

" Yis, yer old companion ! Yer see, I was a scout in
West Virginia, under Rosecrans ; and hearing of the
Sandy Valley expedition, and that James A. Garfield,
of Ohio, had command of it, I thought as how that must
be my old companion on the canal boat ; and so I made
tracks for yer."

" Harry ! " exclaimed Garfield, shaking his hand
heartily, as he recognised one of Captain Letcher's crew,
whose name was Henry S. Brown, but known as " Harry'^
on the boat. The marks of a very dissipated life had
obliterated the traces of his former self, so that it was
not strange that Garfield did not recognise him. Brown
was strongly attached to "Jim" on the canal, and now
he desired, above all things, to serve him.

" Colonel Garfield," at length Brown said, laying aside
the familiar title by which he was known on the canal
boat, and addressing him respectfully, as any loyal
soldier would address his superior officer, " Colonel
Garfield, I'm at yer service."

"Just the man I want for a scout," answered Garfield,
heartily. He had confidence in Brown for that business,
and trusted him at once. He knew the country
thoroughly ; and Garfield sent him ahead of his column
to make the circuit of the rebel camp, and learn, if
possible, the strength and position of Marshall's army.
He was directed, also, to sweep through the mountain
border of Virginia, to learn if the loyal forces were
threatened from that quarter. Brown departed, and
Garfield moved forward.

On the following night, as Garfield lay in sound sleep,
about midnight, Jordan came riding into camp from his
dangerous trip. Alighting from his foaming steed, he

320 FROM LOG-CAB m TO WHITE HOUSE.

rushed into his commander's quarters, and shook him
until he awoke.

** What ! back safe ? " exclaimed Garfield, as soon as
he recognised Jordan. " Have you seen Colonel
Cranor .? "

" Yes, colonel ; he can't be morn two days ahind
o'me, nohow."

" God bless you, Jordan ! You have done us great
service," said Garfield, warmly.

"I thank ye, colonel," answered Jordan, his voice
trembhng; "that's more pay'n I expected."

He had returned safely ; but the Providence which so
wonderfully guarded his way out seemed to leave him
to find his own way back ; for, as he expressed it, " The
Lord He cared more for the despatch nor He cared for
me ; and it was nat'ral He shu'd ; 'cause my life only
counts one, but the despatch — it stood for all Kentucky."

The use of Jordan and Brown for scouts initiated
Garfield into the condition of a successful "secret
service." When he became chief of General Rosecrans'
staff he organized a " secret service," which Rosecrans
called "the eyes of the army ; " and it was acknowledged
to be the most complete and efficient scout system of
the war.

The Atlantic Monthly^ of October, 1865, contained a
detailed account of Jordan's wonderful trip, and it closed
by leaving the hero in some unknown grave-yard — dead.
But two years afterwards he turned up, and wrote to
General Garfield that he was dead only on paper, and
that he still had a life to give to his country.

We have seen that Garfield was a born leader among
the companions of his youth, and that the magnetism of
his personal presence inspired hearts around him with a
kindred spirit. When he became a teacher, we have

INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD.

321

seen that he excelled other teachers in awakening the
enthusiasm of his pupils, and leading them to pursue
their studies, or a life-purpose, with singular devotion.
It was equally so in the army. In the first victorious
battle that he fought — that of Middle Creek — many
incidents transpired to establish this fact.

Colonel Garfield had a hundred of his Hiram students
in his command. As soon as he discovered where the
main rebel force lay, he ordered the Hiram students to
cross the rapid stream, and climb the ridge opposite,
whence the rebel fire had been the hottest, his object
being to bring on a battle. As if imitating their brave
commander, who never seemed to heed danger, or to
think of himself, the students responded with a cheer,
and were soon up to their waists in the cold, wintry
river. Once over, they started up the rocky ascent with
a yell, clinging to the trees and underbrush to support
themselves. When not more than halfway up the ridge,
two thousand rebel rifles opened upon them ; but on
they went, and up, until the summit was reached, when
suddenly the hill was alive with rebel soldiers, springing
from ambush, and pouring a deadly fire into the little
Spartan band. For an instant the students faltered, but
the shout of their leader, Captain Williams, rallied
them.

" Every man to a tree ! Give them as good as they
send, boys ! "

The order was obeyed, and behind the huge oaks and
maples the boys stood and fired, picking off the confed-
erates, one by one. As yet, not one of the Hiram boys
has fallen. But the rebels charge upon them, and drive
them down the hill, two of their number falling, one to
rise no more. A Hiram boy turns to his wounded com-
rade to bear him away, when a rebel, within thirty feet,

Y

322 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

fires, and the bullet strikes a tree just above his head.
The Hiram student takes deliberate aim, and sends that
rebel to his account. But he cannot bear away his
comrade, for the rebels are upon him. He joins his
retreating companions just as the voice of the heroic
Captain Williams is heard again, above the din of
battle :

" To the trees again, my boys ! We may as well die
here as in Ohio ! "

To the trees they go, and succeed in turning back
the rebel advance, and driving them up the hill. Pass-
ing the wounded Hiram boy, a confederate said to
him, —

" Boy, guv me yer musket."

" Not the gun, but the contents," shouted the brave
fellow ; and the confederate fell dead at his feet.

Another rebel raised his weapon to brain the prostrate
student, when the latter seized the dead rebel's gun, at his
feet, and shot the other so quickly that the rebel scarcely
knew what hurt him. One hour afterwards the boys
had borne their bleeding hero to camp, where the sur-
geon proceeded to amputate his limb.

"Oh, what will mother do .?" exclaimed the patriot, in
the midst of his agony. His mother was poor, depen-
dent upon her son for support. Two weeks later the
story of Charles Carlton, of Franklin, Ohio, was told in
the Ohio senate, and it aroused the State to lead off in
framing statutes to aid the widows and mothers of its
soldiers.

Colonel Garfield ordered five hundred soldiers forward
to support the Hiram valiants. With a shout they
plunged into the stream, holding their cartridge-boxes
above their heads.

" Hurrah for Williams, and the Hiram boys ! "

INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD.

323

But four thousand muskets, and twelve pieces of
artillery, concentrate a fearful fire upon them.

" This will never do," cried Garfield ; " who will
volunteer to carry the other mountain ? "

" We will," answered Colonel Moore, of the Twenty-
second Kentucky. "We know every inch of the
ground."

"Go in, then, and give them Hail Columbia!"
Garfield shouted.

And they did ; a similar fight on the other ridge, the
loyal troops behind trees, picking off the rebels whose
heads peered above the rocks. Cooler men never served
in war.

" Do you see that reb } " said one comrade to another,
" Hit him while I'm loading."

Another was raising his cartridge to his mouth when
a rebel bullet cut away the powder, leaving the lead in
his fingers.. Shielding his arm with his body, he says,
as he reloads, —

" There, see if you can hit that } "

Another took out a piece of hard tack, and a ball cut
it to pieces in his hand.

He coolly swallowed the remnant, and fired at his foe.
One was brought down by a rebel bullet in his knee ;
but, with rifie still in hand, he watched for the man who
shot him. The rebel's head soon appeared above the
rock, and the two fired at the same moment. The loyal
soldier was hit fatally in the mouth. When his com-
rades were bearing him away, he spoke out, —

" Never mind, that secesh is done for."

When the confederate was found, on the following
day, the upper part of his head was shot away by the
other's fatal charge.

So the battle raged, the loyal forces advancing and

324 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

then retreating, until the fate of the little union army
seemed to hang in the balance, when Garfield, standing
on a rock that was scarred by a thousand bullets, and
from which he could take in the whole scene, with his
head uncovered, and his hair streaming in the wind, his
face upturned in earnest prayer for Sheldon and his
forces (expected reinforcements), turned to his hundred
men, held back as reserves, exclaiming, as he tossed his
outer coat into a tree, —

" Come on, boys ! we must give them Hail Colum-
bia!"

And they rushed to the succour of the forlorn hope,
just as the sun was sinking behind the western hills,
when lo ! a look to the northward revealed to Garfield
the star-spangled banner waving among the trees! It
was Sheldon and his reinforcements, just in season to
turn the tide of battle. The rebel commander sounded
" retreat 1 " but had scarcely given the order when six
loyal bullets pierced his body, and he fell dead.

" God bless you, boys ; you have saved Kentucky ! "
shouted Garfield to his troops, when they ceased pur-
suing the retreating confederates.

We learned before that President Lincoln made
Garfield brigadier- general for gallant services in this
battle. The President was much depressed at the time
of this victory, because of repeated disasters to our arms
in the " Department of the East." A distinguished army
officer was present with him when he received the news
of this victory, and Mr. Lincoln said to the officer, —

"Why d.'d Garfield, in two weeks, do what would
have taken one of your regular officers two months to
accomplish ? "

"Because he was not educated at West Point," replied
the Weyt Pointer, laughingly.

INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD,- . 325

** No," answered Mr. Lincoln, " that was not the
reason. It was because, when he was a boy, he had to
work for a living."

After the battle of Middle Creek, Garfield's soldiers
were exhausted, and short of rations. The roads were
well-nigh impassable, because of the deep mud, and
the Big Sandy was swollen to a torrent, rendering the
delivery of supplies difficult. Something must be done.
Garfield proposed to go down the river to hurry up
supplies, but the oldest boatmen refused, saying, "Im-
possible, it can't be done ! "

Brown, the scout, had returned, and Garfield opened
the subject to him.

" What do you think of it, Brown ? The boatmen
say that it is sure death ; what do you say .-* You and
I know something about boating."

The scout's reply was characteristic. " It's which and
tother, Gineral Jim ; starvin' or drownin'. I'd rather
drown nor starve. So, guv the word, and, dead or alive,
I'll git down the river ! "

" All right, Harry, we'll go ! " And they sprang into
a small skiff, and committed their lives to the raging
torrent. It was a fearful sail, but they reached the
mouth of the Big Sandy in safety ; and here Garfield's
experience on the canal boat served him well. There
he found a small, rickety steamer, named Sandy Valley^
tied up at Catletsburg.

" I am under the necessity of taking possession of
your steamer to carry supplies to my troops," Colonel
Garfield said to the captain, who was a secessionist, and
who, of course, would have preferred that the troops
should starve rather than to feed them.

•' This craft can't stem such a current, no how ; it'll
be the death on us," the captain replied. There was

326 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

some reason for his saying this, for the water in the
channel was sixty feet deep, so swollen that trees along
the banks were submerged nearly to their tops.

" Nevertheless, I must have this steamer, and I will
assume the command ; " and so saying, Garfield ordered
the captain and crew on board, took his station at the
helm, placed Brown at the bow with a long fending pole,
to keep one eye on the floating logs and uprooted trees,
and the other on the rebel captain. The steamer was
loaded with provisions, and started up the river with
Captain (not Colonel just now) Garfield in command.
We learned in the course of our narrative that once he
desired to command some sort of water-craft, and now
his early hopes were realized.

When night came on, it was dark and tempestuous,
and the captain said —

" The boat must be tied up to-night, can't live in such
a time ; it is madness to keep on."

" But I am captain of this steamer now," responded
Garfield ; " keep to your duty, and I will keep to mine.
We don't tie up boats in such a crisis as this. Freshen
the fires, men, and put on the steam." And he kept the
steamer on its way.

Finally, in turning a bend in the river, the steamer
swept round and grounded on a bar of quicksand. The
usual efi"orts were made to relieve her, but in vain. And
now that tact and sound common sense for which we
have seen that Garfield was distinguished from boyhood,
came to his rescue.

" Get a line to the opposite shore ! " commanded Gar-
field, particularly addressing the sulky captain.

" A line to that shore ! " shouted the rebel captain in
reply. " It's death on any man that 'tempts it."

" It can be done, and it must be done." cried Garfield ;

INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 327

and he leaped into the yawl, calling Brown to follow,
and steered for the shore. The wild torrent swept them
down the stream a short distance, but they rallied by
almost superhuman strength, reached the shore, fastened
the line, constructed a windlass, and, in a short time, the
steamer was drawn from her bed in the mud, and was
on her triumphant way up the stream. From Saturday
until nine o'clock Monday morning Garfield stood at
the wheel, night and day ; and when he reached Paints-
ville his troops were reduced almost to their last
cracker. His experience with rough men at the " Black-
salter's," and on the canal, qualified him to deal with
such a rebel as the captain of the Sandy Valley.

When the steamer drew up to the Union camp, Gar-
field's men were almost frantic with joy. They cheered
and yelled, and seized their brave commander, and
would have borne him upon their shoulders to head-
quarters had he not resolutely protested against it.

Brown, the scout, came to a melancholy end.
General Garfield wrote about him, May 31, 1864, as
follows :

"When we first met he recognised me as an old
acquaintance on the Ohio Canal. He at once took a
sort of enthusiastic pride in me, and with a rough, gen-
erous nature, was ready to make any personal sacrifices
to aid me to success. He was not trusted by most of
our people ; indeed, many of them attempted to con-
vince me that he was not only a rascal, but a rebel. I
think he had an eye for a good horse, and did not always
closely distinguish between meum and tuum ; but my
remembrance of him on the canal, together with a feel-
ing that he loved me, made me trust him implicitly. I
think he was never perfectly happy till he helped me
to navigate the little steamer up the Bi^ Sandy in the

328 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

high water. Indeed, I could not have done that with-
out his aid. He was about forty years old ; a short,
stocky, sailor-looking fellow, somewhat bloated with
hard drinking ; in short, he was a rare combination of
good and bad qualities, with strong traits, a ruined man;
and yet, underneath the ruins, a great deal of generous,
self-sacrificing noble-heartedness, which made one de-
plore his fall, and yet like him. He went north, on
some personal business, just before I left the Sandy
Valley, and I received a dirty note from him, written
from Buffalo, in which he said he should meet me some-
where in *■ the tide of battle,' and fight by my side again ;
but I have not heard from him since."

Another says :

" This was in 1 864. Ten years afterward, as General
Garfield was about to deliver an address at Cornell, a
heavy hand was laid upon his shoulder, and, turning
about, he saw his ex-scout and old boat-companion.
He was even a more perfect ruin than before — with
bleared ^y&Sy bloated face, and garments that were half
tatters. He had come, he said, while the tears rolled
down his cheeks, to that quiet place to die, and now he
could die in peace, because he had seen his * gineral.'

" Garfield gave him money, and got him quarters
among some kind people, and left him, telling him to
try to be a man ; but, in any event, to let him know if
he ever needed further help. A year or more passed,
and no word came from Brown ; but then the super-
intendent of the public hospital at Buffalo wrote the
general that a man was there very sick, who, in his
delirium, talked of him, of the Ohio Canal, and of the
Sandy Valley expedition. Garfield knew at once that
it was Brown, and immediately forwarded funds to the
hospital, asking that he should have every possible care

INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD, 329

and comfort. The letter which acknowledged the remit-
tance announced that the poor fellow had died — died,
muttering, in his delirium, the name * Jim Garfield.'

" Garfield gave him a decent burial, and this was the
last of the poor fellow."

General Garfield's tact, sagacity, fidelity, spirit of
self-sacrifice, and undaunted courage, so conspicuous in
his early life, are illustrated by his famous ride from
General Rosecrans to General Thomas, when the army
of the Cumberland was almost routed in the famous
battle of Chickamauga. It was necessary for General
Thomas to know the disaster that had befallen Rose-
crans' forces, in order to meet the rebel General Long-
street victoriously. Garfield proposed to undertake the
fearful ride. Edmund Kirk, war correspondent of the
Nezv York Tribune, described it as follows :

" Rosecrans hesitates, then says, * As you will, gen-
eral ; ' and then, reaching Garfield his hand, he adds,
while his face shows his emotion, ' We may not meet
again ; good-bye ; God bless you ! ' Though one of
the bravest men and ablest soldiers that ever lived,
Rosecrans has a heart as tender and gentle as a woman's.
He thinks Garfield is going to well-nigh certain death,
and he loves him as David loved Jonathan. Again he
wrings his hand, and then they part — Rosecrans to the
rear to rally his broken troops, Garfield to a perilous
ride in pursuit of Thomas.

" Captain Gaw and two of his orderlies go with Gar-
field to guide the way. They make a wide detour to
avoid the Confederates, and, by the route they take, it
is eight miles of tangled forest and open road before
they get to Thomas, and at any turn they may come
upon the enemy.

" At Rossville they take the Lafayette Road, guiding

330 FROM TOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

their way by the sound of the firing, and moving cau-
tiously, for they are now nearing the battle-field. The
road here is scarcely more than a lane, flanked on one
side by a thick wood, and on the other by an open
cotton-field. No troops are in sight, and on they gallop
at a rapid pace ; and they have left Rossville a thousand
yards behind, when suddenly, from along the left of the
road, a volley of a thousand Minie-balls falls among
them, thick as hail, wounding one horse, killing another,
and stretching the two orderlies on the ground lifeless.
They have ridden into an ambuscade of a large body of
Longstreet's skirmishers and sharpshooters, who, enter-
ing the fatal gap in the right centre, have pressed thus
far upon the flank of Thomas.

" Garfield is mounted on a magnificent horse, that
knows his riders bridle-hand as well as he knows the
route to his fodder. Putting spurs to his side, he leaps
the fence into the cotton-field. The opposite fence is
h'ned with grey blouses, and a single glance tells him
that they are loading for another volley. He has been
in tight places before, but this is the tightest. Putting
his lips firmly together, he says to himself, * Now is your
time; be a man, Jim Garfield ! ' He speaks to his
horse, and lays his left hand gently on the rein of the
animal. The trained beast yields kindly to his touch ;
and, putting the rowels into his side, Garfield takes a
zigzag course across the cotton-field. It is his only
chance ; he must tack from side to side, for he is a dead
man if they get a steady aim upon him.

"He is riding up an inclined plane of about four
hundred yards, and if he can pass the crest he is in
safety. But the grey fellows can load and fire twice
before he reaches the summit, and his death is a thing
certain, unless Providence has more work for him to do

INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 331

on this footstool. Up the hill he goes, tacking, when
another volley bellows from out the timber. His horse
is struck, — a flesh wound, — but the noble animal only-
leaps forward the faster. Scattering bullets whiz by
his head, but he is within a few feet of the summit.
Another volley echoes along the hill when he is half
over the crest, but in a moment more he is in safety.
As he tears down the slope, a small body of mounted
blue-coats gallop forward to meet him, At their head
is General Dan McCook, his face anxious and pallid
* My God, Garfield ! ' he cries, ' I thought you were
killed, certain. How you have escaped is a miracle.'

"Garfield's horse has been struck twice, but he is
good yet for a score of miles ; and at a breakneck pace
they go forward, through ploughed fields and tangled
forests, and over broken and rocky hills, for four weary
miles, till they climb a wooded crest, and are within
sight of Thomas. In a slight depression of the ground,
with a group of officers about him, he stands in the open
field, while over him sweeps the storm of shotted fire
that falls in thick rain on the high foot-hill which
Garfield is crossing. Shot and shell and canister plough
up the ground all about Garfield ; but in the midst of it
he halts, and with uplifted right arm, and eyes full of
tears, he shouts, as he catches sight of Thomas, * There
he is ! God bless the old hero ! he has saved the army ! '

"Por a moment only he halts, then he plunges down
the hill through the fiery storm, and in five minutes is
by the side of Thomas. He has come out unscathed
from the hurricane of death, for God's good angels have
warded off the bullets ; but his noble horse staggers a
step or two, and then falls dead at the feet of Thomas."

Garfield's terrible ride saved the army of the Cum-
berland from remediless disaster.

332 FROM LOG-CABIN. TO WHITE HOUSE,

Another incident illustrative of his life-long inde-
pendence in standing for the right, befriending the
down-trodden, and assailing slavery, was his refusal to
return a fugitive slave. One of his staff told the story
thus :

"One day I noticed a fugitive slave come rushing
into camp with a bloody head, and apparently fright-
ened almost to death. He had only passed my tent a
moment, when a regular bully of a fellow came riding
up, and, with a volley of oaths, began to ask after his
'nigger.' General Garfield was not present, and he
passed on to the division commander. This division
commander was a sympathiser with the theory that
fugitives should be returned to their masters, and that
the Union soldiers should be made the instruments for
returning them. He accordingly wrote a mandatory
order to General Garfield, in whose command the slave
was supposed to be hiding, telling him to hunt out and
deliver over the property of the outraged citizen. I
stated the case as fully as I could to General Garfield
before handing him the order, but did not colour my
statement in any way. He took the order, and deliber-
ately wrote on it the following indorsement :

"*I respectfully but positively decline to allow my
command to search for or deliver up any fugitive slaves.
I conceive that they are here for quite another purpose.
The command is open, and no obstacles will be placed
in the way of search.'

" I read the indorsement and was frightened. I
expected that, if returned, the result would be that the
general would be court-martialed. I told him my fears.
He simply replied : 'The matter may as well be tested
first as last. Right is right, and I do not propose to
mince matters at all. My soldiers are here for other

INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD, 333

purposes than hunting and returning fugitive slaves.
My people, on the Western Reserve of Ohio, did not
send my boys and myself down here to do that kind of
business, and they will back me up in my action.' He
would not alter the indorsement, and the order was
returned. Nothing ever came of the matter further."

In the beginning of our story, we learned that one
of Garfield's first teachers told him (patting him on
the head), " You may make a general, if you learn well."
He did not understand the meaning of it at the time,
but he knows all about it now. Nor is it difficult to
understand how his early opportunities to study human
nature, his ability to read character, his tact and experi-
ence in disciplining and drilling a large school, fitted
him for a successful general.

His life in Congress abounds in thrilling incidents
of moral courage, loyalty, and defence of right. " Peace
hath her victories no less renowned than war."

One of the first important measures that came up,
after he entered Congress, was a Bounty Bill — offering
men a sum of money, in addition to the regular army
pay, to become soldiers, instead of drafting and forcing
them to serve. The Bounty Bill was very popular
with his own party, and drafting was very unpopular.
General Garfield did not consider the popularity or
unpopularity of the measure at all, but he opposed it
with all his might, on the ground that bounties re-
cruited the army with unreliable soldiers, necessitated
an expense that the Government could not long endure ;
and besides, he claimed that the Government had a
right to the services of every able-bodied male citizen,
from eighteen to forty-five years of age, and they
should be drafted to the extent of the country's need.
When the vote was taken, Garfield voted against his

334 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

own party, with only a single member of it to stand with
him. A few days thereafter, Secretary Chase said to him :

" General Garfield ! I was proud of your vote the
other day. Your position is impregnable ; but let me
tell you it is rather risky business for a member of «,
Congress to vote against his own party." M

" Risky business," exclaimed Garfield, " for a man to
stand upon his conscience! His constituents may leave
him at home, but what is that compared with trampling
upon his convictions } "

A few days afterwards. President Lincoln went before
the military committee, of which Garfield was a member,
and told them what he did not dare to breathe to the
country :

"In one hundred days, three hundred and eighty
thousand soldiers will be withdrawn from our army,
by expiration of the time of their enlistment. Unless
Congress shall authorize me to fill up the vacancy by
draft, I shall be compelled to recall Sherman from
Atlanta, and Grant from the Peninsula."

Some of the committee endeavoured to dissuade him
from such a measure, saying that it would endanger
his re-election to adopt a measure so unpopular. Mr.
Lincoln stretched his tall form up to its full height, and
exclaimed, —

"Gentlemen, it is not necessary that I should be
re-elected, but it is necessary that I should put down
this rebellion. If you will give me this law, I will put
it down before my successor takes his office."

A draft-law for five hundred thousand men was
reported to the House, when Garfield made one of hia
most eloquent and patriotic speeches in its favour,
carrying it by storm. Congress and the' whole country
soon came to feel that Garfield was right.

INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD.. 335

A few months later, Alexander Long, Democratic
member of the House from Ohio,. in sympathy with the
authors of the rebellion, rose in his seat, and proposed
to recognise the southern confederacy. This treason-
able act caused Garfield's patriotic blood to boil in
his veins, and he sprang to his feet and delivered one
of the most powerful philippics ever heard in the
American Congress. Calling attention to the traitor
of the American revolution, — Benedict Arnold, — he
said, —

" But now, when tens of thousands of brave souls
have gone up to God under ihe shadow of the flag;
when thousands more, maimed and shattered in the
contest, are sadly awaiting the deliverance of death ;
now, when three years of terrific warfare have raged
over us ; when our armies have pushed the rebellion
back over mountains and rivers, and crowded it into
narrow limits, until a wall of fire girds it ; now, when
the uplifted hand of a majestic people is about to hurl
the bolts of its conquering power upon the rebellion ;
now, in the quiet of this hall, hatched in the lowest
depths of a similar dark treason, there rises a Benedict
Arnold, and proposes to surrender all up, body and
spirit, the nation and the flag, its genius and its honour,
now and for ever, to the accursed traitors to our country !
And that proposition comes — God forgive and pity my
beloved State — it comes from a citizen of the time-
honoured and loyal commonwealth of Ohio !

" I implore you, brethren in this House, to believe that
not many births ever gave pangs to my mother State
such as she suffered when that traitor was born ! I bee
you not to believe that on the soil of that State another
such a growth has ever deformed the face of nature, and
darkened the lis^ht of God's day."

336 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

This single paragraph shows the spirit of this noble
effort.

President Lincoln vetoed a bill, in 1864, providing
for the organization of civil governments in Arkansas
and Louisiana, and appointed military governors. Many
Republicans criticised him severely ; among them, Gar-
field. His constituents disapproved of his course, and
resolved not to renominate him. The convention of his
congressional district, the nineteenth of Ohio, met, and
General Garfield was called upon for an explanation.
When he went upon the platform, the delegates ex-
pected to hear an apology from him ; but instead, he
boldly defended his course, and that of Wade and Davis,
who criticised the president sharply in the New York
Trihme ; and he gave the reasons for his action,
adding, —

"I have nothing whatever to retract, and I cannot
change my honest convictions for the sake of a seat in
Congress. I have great respect for the opinions of my
constituents, but greater regard for my own conscience.
If I can serve you as an independent representative,
acting upon my own judgment and convictions, I would
be glad to do so ; but if not, I do not want your
nomination ; I would prefer to be an independent
private citizen."

It was the coolest, plainest, most fearless speech,
probably, that was ever made before a nominating
convention in Ohio. Garfield withdrew from the hall
as soon as he closed his speech. No sooner had he
withdrawn than a delegate arose and said, —

" Mr. President, the man who has the courage to face
a convention like that deserves a nomination. I move
that General Garfield be nominated by acclamation."

The motion was carried so quickly, and by such

INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD, 337

round of applause, that General Garfield heard it before
he reached the hotel.

General Garfield prosecuted a European tour in the
summer of 1868, for his health. On his return, he
found his own congressional district running wild with
the heresy of paying the national debt in greenbacks.
The convention to nominate a congressional candidate
was pending ; and his constituents knew that he believed
in paying the debt with honest money — gold. Friends
told him that his renomination would be opposed on
that ground. They proposed to give him a public re-
ception, but charged him not to express his views on
that subject, in his speech ; when called out, however, he
struck at once upon that exciting theme, referring to
the information he had received concerning their desire
to pay the national debt in greenbacks, and said, —

" Much as I value your opinions, I here denounce this
theory that has worked its way into this State as dis-
honest, unwise, and unpatriotic ; and if I were offered a
nomination and election for my natural life, from this dis-
trict, on this platform, I should spurn it. If you should
ever raise the question of renominating me, let it be un-
derstood you can have my services only on the ground
of the honest payment of this debt, and these bonds, in
coin, according to the letter and spirit of the contract."

In the campaign of 1864, he went into Maryland to
speak, on the invitation of Postmaster-general Creswell.
He spoke at Chestertown. Rebel sympathisers in the
crowd threw rotten eggs at him. At once he interjected
this fearless castigation into his speech :

" I have just come from fighting brave rebels at
Chickamauga ; I shall not flinch before cowardly rebels
like you."

On the fourteenth day of April, 1865, President

338 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

Lincoln was assassinated. The following morning New
York City presented a scene of the most perilous excite-
ment. Placards were pasted up in New York, Brooklyn,
and Jersey City, calling upon loyal citizens to meet
around Wall Street Exchange, at eleven o'clock. Thou-
sands came, armed with revolvers and knives, ready
to avenge the death of the martyred President. Fifty
thousand men gathered there, their blood boiling with
the fires of patriotism.

There were few in the multitude who would not strike
down the rebel sympathiser who should dare speak a
word against Lincoln. One such remarked to another,
" Lincoln ought to have been shot long ago." He was
not suffered to repeat it. A portable gallows was
carried through the crowd, lifted above their heads, the
bearers muttering, " VENGEANCE ! " as they went. The
prospect was that the office of the Worlds a disloyal
journal, and some prominent sympathisers with the
rebellious South, would be swallowed in the raging sea
of passion. The wave of popular indignation was
swollen by the harangues of public speakers. In thej
midst of the terrible excitement, a telegram from
Washington was read, — " Seward is Dying." For an
instant, vengeance and death upon every paper and
every man opposed to Lincoln seemed to move the
mighty crowd. Possibly the scene of the French revo-
lution would have been reproduced in the streets of
New York, had not a man of commanding figure,
bearing a small flag in his hand, stepped forward and
beckoned to the excited throng.

" Another telegram from Washington ! " cried hun-
dreds of voices. It was the silence of death that fol-
lowed. It seemed as if every listener held his breath
to hear.

INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 339

Lifting his right arm toward heaven, in a clear, dis-
tinct, steady, ponderous voice, that the multitude could
hear, the speaker said :

" Fellow-citizens : Clouds and darkness are round
about Him ! His pavilion is dark waters and thick
clouds of the skies ! Justice and judgment are the
habitation of His throne ! Mercy and truth shall go
before His face ! Fellow-citizens : God reigns, and the
Government at Washington still lives ! "

The speaker was GENERAL GARFIELD. The effect
of his remarkable effort was miraculous. Another said
of it:

" As the boiling wave subsides and settles to the sea
when some strong wind beats it down, so the tumult of
the people sank and became still. As the rod draws
the electricity from the air, and conducts it safely to the
ground, so this man had drawn the fury from that frantic
crowd, and guided it to more tranquil thoughts than
vengeance. It was as if some divinity had spoken
through him. It was a triumph of eloquence, a flash
of inspiration such as seldom comes to any man, and
to not more than one man in a century. Webster, nor
Choate, nor Everett, nor Seward, ever reached it. De-
mosthenes never equalled it. The man for the crisis
had come, and his words were more potent than Na-
poleon's guns at Paris."

This incident illustrates several of the qualities of
Garfield's character that we have seen in his early life, —
his sagacity, tact, quick-witted turn for an emergency ;
his magnetic power, and familiarity with, and confidence
in, the Bible. All along through his public career the
attainments, habits, and application of his youth contri-
buted to his marvellous success.

As his character and abilities added dignity to the

340 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE,

office of janitor and teacher in his early manhood, so
they have dignified all the offices that he has filled
throughout his public career.

In scholarship and familiarity with general literature,
Garfield has stood without a peer in Congress. Mr.
Townsend said of him : " Since John Quincy Adams,
no President has had Garfield's scholarship, which is
equally up to this age of wider facts." A Washington
writer says : " Few public men in this city keep up
literary studies. General Garfield is one of the few."
Another says : " Garfield is a man of infinite resources.
He is one of the half-dozen men in Congress who read
books." President Hinsdale says : " He has great power
of logical analysis, and stands with the first in power
of rhetorical exposition. He has the instincts and
habits of a scholar. As a student, he loves to roam in
every field of knowledge. He delights in creations of
the imagination, poetry, fiction, and art ; loves the
abstract things of philosophy ; takes a keen interest in
scientific research ; gathers into his capacious store-
house the facts of history and politics, and throws over
the whole the life and power of his own originality.
. . . No public man of the last ten years has more
won upon our scholars, scientists, men of letters, and
the cultivated classes generally. . . . His moral
character is the fit crown of his physical and intellectual-
nature. His mind is pure, his heart kind, his nature
and habits simple, his generosity unbounded. An old
friend told me the other day, ' I have never found any-
thing to compare with Garfield's heart.' "

Smalley, one of his biographers, says :

" There is probably no living political orator whose
efforts before large audiences are so efiective. He
appeals directly to the reason of men. and only after

w

^ carryii

INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 341

carrying his hearers along on a strong tide of argument
to irresistible conclusions, does he address himself to
their feelings. . . . He has a powerful voice, great
personal magnetism, and a style of address that wins
confidence at the outset, and he is master of the art
of binding together facts and logic into a solid sheaf of
argument. At times he seems to lift his audience up
and shake it with strong emotion, so powerful is his
eloquence."

We close our narrative with a collection of his ori-
ginal sentiments and maxims, from his numerous public
addresses, — just the thoughts for every youth of the
land to ponder :

" There is no more common thought among young
people than that foolish one, that by-and-by something
will turn up by which they will suddenly achieve fame
or fortune. No, young gentlemen; things don't turn up
in this world unless somebody turns them up."

" I feel a profounder reverence for a boy than a man.
I never meet a ragged boy on the street without feeling
that I owe him a salute, for I know not what possibili-
ties may be buttoned up under his shabby coat."

"There is scarcely a more pitiable sight than
to see here and there learned men, so called, who have
graduated in our own and the universities of Europe
with high honours, and yet who could not harness a
horse, or make out a bill of sale, if the world depended
upon it."

" Luck is an ignis fatuus. You may follow it to ruin,
but not to success."

" A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck."

" Be fit for more than the one thing you are now
doing."

" Nothing is more uncertain than the result of any one

342 FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

throw ; few things more certain than the result of many
throws."

" If the power to do hard work is not talent, it is the
best possible substitute for it."

"Every character is the joint product of nature and
nurture."

" Not a man of iron, but of live oak."

" It is no honour or profit merely to appear in the
arena. The wreath is for those who contend."

" For the noblest man that lives there still remains a
conflict."

" The privilege of being a young man is a great
privilege, and the privilege of growing up to be an
independent man, in middle life, is a greater."

" I would rather be beaten in right than succeed in
wrong."

"Present evils always seem greater than those that
never come."

" Whatever you win in life you must conquer by your
own efforts, and then it is yours — a part of yourself."

" Poets may be born, but success is made."

" Growth is better than permanence, and permanent
growth is better than all."

" The principles of ethics have not changed by the
lapse of years."

" If there be one thing upon this earth that mankind
love and admire better than another, it is a brave man,
— it is a man who dares look the devil in the face, and
tell him he is a devil."

"The possession of great powers no doubt carries
with it a contempt for mere external show."

" That man will be a benefactor of his race who shall
teach us how to manage rightly the first years of a
child's education."

^ INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD, 343

^F " The student should study himself, his relation to
^K society, to nature, and to art, and above all, in all, and
^B through all these, he should study the relations of him-
self, society, nature, and art to God, the Author of them
all."
Wk ' *' Great ideas travel slowly, and for a time noiselessly,
as the gods whose feet were shod with wool."

" What the arts are to the world of matter, literature
is to the world of mind."

"Truth is so related and correlated that no depart-
ment of her realm is wholly isolated."

" I would rather be defeated than make capital out of
my religion."

" Ideas are the great warriors of the world, and a war
that has no ideas behind it is simply brutality."

t" After all, territory is but the body of a nation. The
people who inhabit its hills and its valleys are its soul,
its spirit, its life."

" Come down the glorious steps of our banner. Every
great record we have made has been vindicated with
our blood and with our truth. It sweeps the ground,
and it touches the stars."

" It is a fearful thing for one man to stand up in the
face of his brother man and refuse to keep his pledge ;

I but it is a forty-five million times worse thing for a
nation to do it. It breaks the mainspring of faith."
"The flowers that bloom over the garden wall of
rj-: party politics are the sweetest and most fragrant that
bloom in the gardens of this world."

" It was not one man who killed Abraham Lincoln :
it was the embodied spirit of treason and slavery, in-
spired with fearful and despairing hate, that struck him
down in the moment of the nation's supremest joy."
" When two hundred and fifty thousand brave spirits

344

FROM LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.

passed from the field of honour through that thin veil
to the presence of God, and when at last its parting
folds admitted the martyr-president to the company of
the dead heroes of the republic, the nation stood so near
the veil that the whispers of God were heard by the
children of men.'*

FROM THE WHITE HOUSE TO THE GRAVE.

The short career of only four months as President, was
long enough to prove the admirable capabilities of the
man for the distinguished position to which he had been
so honourably and unexpectedly raised. More than
half his too brief life was passed before he began to
study and comprehend the importance of becoming
acquainted with the social and political condition of the
nation ; but once convinced of the primary value of such
knowledge, he was untiring in its search. Not antici-
pating such responsibilities, he might have been some-
what excused had he given an indication of inexperience.
On the contrary, in accepting the nomination of the
Republican Convention in July of last year, he sketched
a comprehensive outline of his own political creed, which
was at- once clear, pointed, and satisfactory. He gave
prominence to home legislation ; to improving the faci-
lities and safety of the transit of commerce ; to emigra-
tion, seeking to mitigate existing evils relating thereto ;
and especially the wise and judicious distribution of
patronage received marked consideration.

In his inaugural address, delivered in March last, he
sought the abandonment of all enmities, dwelt with
emphasis on the emancipation of the negroes, and treated
the illiteracy of voters as a danger to the constitution,
which involved enforced education. On all these promi-
nent points, the evident aim of his suggestions was to
elevate the people commercially, morally, and socially.
The proposed inter-oceanic canal across the Isthmus

346 FROM THE WHITE HOUSE TO THE GRAVE.

required careful consideration, and the great social evil
of Mormonism. he intended to reduce to a minimum.

In forming his Cabinet, his first consideration was to
have the best man in every position of trust, and his
selection was determined more by motives of peace than
by seeking to favour any party. In this, perhaps, lay
one of the sources of that danger which was so soon to
manifest itself in an insane, and, alas ! ultimately fatal
attempt on his life. A section of the official men con-
tended that the President should give all offices to the
nominees of the Senators of each State. The previous
President had done much to resist that plan, and Presi-
dent Garfield, following his lead, incurred the opposition
of the party led by Mr. Conkling, who, as a protest
against the President's upright conduct, resigned his
seat in the Senate, and sought re-election. It was at
that juncture that the enthusiast, Guiteau, made his
murderous attack on the President.

Mrs. Garfield, who had been seriously unwell, was
staying with her daughter at Long Branch, New Jersey,
to which place President Garfield had planned a visit,
hoping for a fortnight's rest and recreation. On Satur-
day, July 2nd, the President left the White House,
Washington, and was driven by Secretary Blaine in his
carriage to the Baltimore and Potomac station at Wash-
ington, where he arrived at 9.20 a.m. Just as the
President, leaning on Mr. Blaine's arm, was entering
the ladies' passenger room, a fiendish assassin, Charles
J. Guiteau, a disappointed place-seeker, who had for
days been following the President with a loaded re-
volver, suddenly discharged two barrels at him in the
presence of a number of persons, and the President
reeled and fell, and lay bleeding on the floor, one
ball having passed through the right arm, the other

FROM TUB WHITE HOUSE TO THE GRAVE. 347

entering from behind was lodged within the body,
from which it could not be extracted during life-time.
At first it was thought he could not survive the shock
many hours ; but by the extraordinary care of his
physicians, and the ceaseless watchings, prayers, and
nursings of his devoted wife, who was summoned home
to the beloved sufferer immediately, the life of the Pre-
sident was prolonged from July 2nd to September 19th,
enduring his protracted and often intense sufferings with
a fortitude and resignation almost unexampled.

During those long and weary weeks the whole Amer-
ican and English nations were daily offering prayer for
the recovery of the President, and the support of his
devoted wife. With constant changes of condition,
awakening fresh hopes, and followed by depressing
sorrows every few days, an amount of sympathy has
been manifested all through America, especially in the
south ; and in England, from the Queen and every class
and condition of the people, which has never before been
equalled.

As a last effort to try and save a life so valuable and
important, the President was removed from Washington
to Long Branch, in New Jersey, with the hope that
purer air and the sea-breeze would rally the sufferer.
The change was productive of fresh hopes ; and renewed
prayers were offered daily. Suddenly, at length, the
fatal moment arrived ; and when multitudes were cheer-
fully dwelling on renewed expectations of recovery, the
heart ceased to pulsate, and President Garfield entered
into rest.

A life 30 varied, useful, and so crowded with incident
and interest, will be sure to live in the memory of the
wise and good for many years to come. To young peo-
ple, and especially boys, the career of President Garfield

348 FROM THE WHITE HOUSE TO THE GRAVE.

furnishes very many practical lessons which men will not
let die. Even the brief four months of his presidential
njle will give him a prominent place amongst the twenty
men who have preceded him in that high office. With-
out designing it, he impressed his own pure mind and
character very largely on all who came under his influ-
ence and example. He stood over six feet high, with
broad shoulders, and a fine vigorous constitution. In
his youth and throughout life enthusiasm of the purest
type distinguished his pursuits. His love of adv^entures,
both by sea and land, was never fully satisfied or sub-
dued, and cut down as he was in the prime of life, before
he had quite completed fifty years, it is no surprise
that the grief at his untimely end is so deep and exten-
sive.

After his death and embalming, his body was re-
moved to Washington, where for two days it lay in state.
It was then removed to Cleveland, his native place, and
remained there in state on Sunday, and was interred on
Monday, September 26, in Lake View Cemetery, Cleve-
land.

The pastor of the church to which he belonged says
the President was well prepared for death. He was
always an earnest, faithful, prayerful man ; and in afflic-
tion or prosperity he was a simple, unaffected Christian.
On taking up his residence at the White House he said
to his pastor, " In my church relations I am plain and
simple James A. Garfield."

He had insured his life only a few weeks previous to
the fatal event.

The American people have raised a fund exceeding
;{; 70,000 for Mrs. Garfield.

Butler & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London.

27/ Paternoster Row^

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